Scholarship
by Memoryloss
Summary: Deidara has won a scholarship award to study in Konoha High, a school where the rich go to study. High school would be great if Itachi the weasel didn't exist, though. But when Deidara finally starts to like Itachi, Sasori transfers into Konoha High...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's note: This is my first story I'm submitting. I'm sorry if it isn't well-written. Please enjoy :)

Summary: Deidara has recieved a scholarship award to study at the famous Konoha High school, a place where the filthy rich kids go to study. In order to pay for his school books and school uniform, he takes up a part time job at Uchiha International Holdings because of its attractive salary. But little does he know what fate has in store for him... SasoXDeiXIta. Eventual Sasodei.

**Warning: This story contains yaoi/shonen-ai. **

**Chapter One**

It was yet another normal morning in Akatsuki Gakuen, class 3-_Zero _when a loud familiar voice disturbed the quiet, peaceful morning.

"Hidan the trumpet strikes again," said Sasori.

"That guy must've taken too much coffee," Konan said, yawning.

Tobi, who belonged to class 2-_South_, had dropped by his favourite sempai's class to say hello and chat. "Ah, Deidara-sempai, wake up, wake up! It seems that Hidan-san has something for you."

Deidara looked up sleepily, only to be hit on the head by his loudmouth classmate, Hidan.

"What exactly is your problem?" Kakuzu asked, "Screaming in the morning doesn't help anything at all you know. You ruined my perfect morning -"

"Shut up, money-face. Your mornings have never been perfect since your allowance has decreased by ten bucks," Hidan snapped, "But anyway, you never told us anything about THIS, Dei-chan." He pointed to the piece of paper he was holding in his right hand.

Deidara looked clearly irritated. "Stop calling me that or I'll slap your face, hn. And what is that anyway?"

Hidan grinned. "Idiot, you never told us that you had applied to go to Konoha High. How could you keep this from us?"

"W-what? How did you know?" Deidara stared at his friend. At this point, Sasori looked up from his puppet-making.

Pointing to the paper in his hand, Hidan nodded. "This paper states that you have gotten a scholarship award to go to the prestigious Konoha High school and study!"

At this point, everyone's jaws dropped. Konoha High? _The_ Konoha High?

"Wait, you mean that filthy rich school with lots of rich kids?" Pein asked.

"The school which has bronze lockers and gold-plated signboards? Plus golden bricks and a playground made of diamond?" Tobi asked excitedly, "And the school where every single pupil and teacher owns a cellphone which is of the latest model, even the cleaners? But Deidara-sempai, if you go there, you'll be the _only one _without a cellphone! Won't that be embarassing?"

Deidara was fuming mad. "You opened my letter without my permission? I'll blow you up someday, you -"

"Tsk tsk, Dei-chan. You're always saying you'll blow me up, but you never do in the end, do you?"

"Says who?" Deidara argued angrily, "I've got a whole lot of my newest explosives at home, and I'll bring them tomorrow and you'll be gone with a bang, hn!"

"OK, just shut up for now, guys. Firstly, how did you get the letter?" Konan asked.

"Oh, the teacher asked me to pass this to Dei-chan," Hidan replied, "and since the letter looked so elegant and pretty with the wax seal and neat cursive handwriting, I thought the letter would be interesting to read."

Deidara rolled his eyes as Pein took the letter from Hidan.

"A scholarship for their art program? But aren't you doing well here?" He asked.

"Well, I don 't want to stay in Akatsuki Gakuen till I graduate from high school. Our school provides education for middle school and high school, but the high school curriculum doesn't include any art course..."

"Ha! So it all boils down to your precious art, huh?" Hidan scoffed.

"Hn, shut up, airhead," Deidara shot back.

"Then why didn't Sasori sign up for the scholarship too? I thought he loved art too," Kakuzu thought aloud.

"Ch, you call puppet-making art? And there's Woodwork in this school's high school curriculum, so he needn't worry about anything, hn." Deidara slumped back in his chair.

At this point, Sasori's eyebrow twitched.

"My art is eternal and beautiful, not like your stupid clay modelling. Clay is meant for kiddies, kid.

And I will never go to that filthy school. I wonder why you even applied to go there," the redhead said.

"Don't insult my art. And art is fleeting; how many times have I told you that?"

Clearly another arguement was about to occur, and Pein knew he had to take some action.

"OK, don't start another arguement. Deidara, you sure you want to go there?"

Deidara smiled. "Of course. I want to pursue my art studies! But the real reason why Sasori didn't apply to Konoha High was because that school sees woodworking as "low-class" and so they don't teach those things there."

"Shut up, brat." Sasori's face turned red.

"Oho, so you wanted to go there too huh? Too bad you can't join Deidara-sempai next year,

Sasori-san," Tobi sniggered.

"Deidara's art is "_high-class_"!" Hidan coughed.

"Whatever." Sasori felt like he was on fire. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. "So, how are you going to settle your part-time job?"

"Oh, I got one at UIH. It pays really well." Deidara looked pleased with himself.

The redhead's eyes widened.

"UIH? You mean, Uchiha International Holdings? The big company which sells all kinds of stuff?"

"Hn. Working as a salesperson in one of their stationary stores, I should be able to buy my school books and uniform by next year, hn. What are you staring at, dumbass?" Deidara gave Sasori a funny look.

"Brat, I work at UIH too, and I work in the stationary store in First Street."

"What?! I work at the shop at First Street too!"

"Stalker! You knew I was working at UIH, so you took up a part-time job there too!"

"Shut up, I didn't even know you were working there. Besides, who would follow you anyway?"

Tobi gave a hoot of laughter. "Such a coincidence, eh?"

"**Shut up, asshole, and get back to your class**," his two sempais snapped as Tobi slipped out of the classroom as quickly as he could.

_Ugh, doing my part-time job with Sasori? Yuck! _Deidara sighed as he took the letter from Pein. "Hn, where's the envelope, Hidan?"

But he knew he had to take this part-time job. No other job paid so well like this one, and his school uniform and books were really expensive...

_But for the sake of my art, its worth it_.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

How did I ever land up in this car? Deidara thought as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Gosh, even the seatbelt strap was made of pure, genuine leather. The steering wheel was plated with gold. The seats were -

"Deidara-san?"

Deidara turned his head to face a smiling woman, who was none other than Uchiha Mikoto, the wife of the boss of UIH. Sitting in the passenger seat was her youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke.

The famous computer prodigy, thought Deidara, looking at the silent teenager's back. He was researching on how to kill snakes.

But why is a computer prodigy doing research on how to kill snakes?

Sasuke must've felt eyes boring into his back. "What are you staring at?" He demanded rudely.

"Sasuke, don't be rude to our guest!" Mikoto chided gently.

"What guest? He's just some poor stranger whose bike tyres got deflated by nails on the road, and you had to offer him a ride! I don't see how some middle-class girl deserves it," said Sasuke, turning to face his mother.

"Excuse me, but I'm a guy, hn," muttered Deidara, feeling insulted.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He stared at the "girl" for a while, then went back to researching on how to kill snakes.

"Middle-class citizens really are weird, huh."

"Anyway, I would like to visit your brother for awhile, so why not let Deidara-san join us, since he's also going to First Street?" Mikoto smiled gently at the guest.

Deidara forced a smile.

I really shouldn't have taken this ride.

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"Oh my gosh."

Deidara's eyes nearly fell out. The stationary store at First Street was humongous, gorgeous, simply amazing. There were lots of customers, fountain pens, books and fancy lighting. The glass windows were large and well-polished. The work uniform of the store staff was neat and classy too.

"Well, amazing isn't it? Looks like you haven't been here before. I can see why, though, with your shabby clothes and old bicycle." Sasuke yawned as he walked into the store. Deidara gritted his teeth and tried to control his temper as Mikoto led him into the store.

Deidara had to admit, this store was awesome. For one thing, it had a wide range of clay

sculpting books. If I have a chance, I've got to read everything they have, he thought as a certain redhead walked up to him and Mikoto.

"Good morning, Mrs Uchiha, how may be of assistance to you?" he said. Deidara stared at the speaker in shock.

"Ohmygosh Sasori Akasuna why are you - "

"Yes?" Sasori gave his friend a you-had-better-shut-up-right-now look.

"Oh, so you know him, Sasori-san?" Mikoto seemed happy.

"Er, yeah, he's my friend," came the reply.

The rich woman clapped her hands together. "That's good! Now, would you mind showing this lost cat around? It's his first day at work, and I think he needs assistance."

"It's my pleasure, Mrs Uchiha."

"Alright then. Good luck at work, Deidara-san! Now I must go find my dearest Itachi..." Mikoto wandered off into the ridiculously large store.

No sooner had she disappeared from his sight, Sasori immediately glared at Deidara.

"Brat, you were supposed to meet me at the bus-stop today."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "_Good morning, Mrs Uchiha, how may I be of assistance to you_?" he said sarcastically, "I suppose you had to take a lot of candy to say these, hn."

"That's not the point. You were late. You kept me waiting for twenty minutes at the bus-stop, and missed two buses because of you. You know I hate waiting," the redhead said, folding his arms.

"My alarm clock betrayed me! I woke up half an hour late, and I my bike tires got deflated by some nails on the road!" Deidara protested.

"No excuse. You shall pay for lunch afterwards. Now, follow me to the staff locker room. I need to get you your uniform." With that, Sasori turned around and started walking away before Deidara could even have a chance to argue.

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OK, so there's no more working attire for male staff. It's better this way though; I prefer working in my casualwear.

"You're in luck, brat. There's no more staff uniforms for guys. You'll have to work in your casualwear for the rest of the week until the new stock comes in." Sasori closed the uniform closet.

Deidara grinned. "I don't mind, hn. I think your uniform looks quite uncomfortable anyway."

"Don't let Itachi hear you, or he'll give you a bad time. He was the one who designed our staff uniforms."

"Itachi? Oh yeah, come to think of it. Mrs Uchiha mentioned something about finding her dearest Itachi. Is it her pet weasel or something, hn?" Deidara said, looking around, "the rich sure have strange animals for pets, don't they - "

"Ahem. And who is this person, Sasori?"

Deidara spun round, only to find a teenager with long black hair and a cold expression on his face. He was wearing a nametag labelled "Itachi".

Oops, so he's Itachi.

"A newcomer," replied Sasori.

"Hmm. So, why isn't this newcomer changed into proper work attire?"

"There are no more uniforms for male staff, Uchiha-san."

Itachi studied Deidara for awhile. "She is a he?" He asked, pointing at the newcomer.

This made Deidara furious. "I am a guy, not a girl!" He said angrily.

"Oh? But you look like a girl. Well, let Deidara-san have the female staff uniform then. We must not have a shabby-looking worker in the store." With that, Itachi walked away, ignoring the shocked look on Deidara's face.

"What? Are you serious? I can't wear a girl's uniform!" Deidara shouted in Itachi's direction, but the latter pretended not to hear anything.

He's obviously taking his revenge on me for calling him a weasel. Stupid weasel!

At this point, Sasori opened the uniform closet and thrust some clothes at his friend. "Sorry, but you've got to wear it," he stated simply.

Deidara felt like he was about to explode.

Just you wait, Uchiha Itachi!


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh ... This story was inspired by Ouran High...so might seem a bit like the Ouran High plot. Rich school, rich person and "commoner." But I'm not following the OH storyline.**

**(Is this story considered a crossover?)**

Chapter 3

The start of the new school term was just two weeks away. Deidara had saved up enough money to buy his school books and school uniform, but wasn't very happy throughout the holidays. Working in the stationary store at First Street was terrible, especially when Itachi had made him wear a female staff uniform. Many customers mistook him for a girl, and his colleagues called him "Dei-chan". Worst of all, Deidara was told that he was to wear the female staff uniform while at work until the day he quit his job.

"That weasel, I'll kill him one day!" Deidara said as he slurped his fruit punch angrily. He and Sasori had just finished work, and were eating dinner in a cafe near their workplace.

"Cool down. It was Mrs Uchiha who insisted you continue wearing your current work uniform, anyway," said Sasori.

"It must be that stupid weasel who decided this, not his mother! He doesn't look like a good person anyway, hn. What is he, the Ice King? He looks like he was deprived of candy when he was young! Or teddy bears! Or toy cars! Whatever it is!" fumed Deidara.

"Itachi doesn't look like the kind of person who fancies teddy bears or candies," said Sasori, "and well, Mrs Uchiha said that you look cute in that uniform."

"But - "

"Eat your food, its turning cold." Sasori said as he took a sip of his iced coffee.

'Stupid puppethead, even you are siding with Uchiha weasel? Idiot bootlicker! You don't feel upset because you don't have to wear a girl's uniform at work!' Deidara thought sourly.

After a moment of silence, Sasori spoke again. "Well, just bear with it. Don't forget, the job you have now is a high-paying part-time job. It wouldn't be worth it if you quit now, right? Besides, you really need the money now that you've gotten yourself into Konoha High."

Deidara thought about it for awhile. It was true that he needed the money, but how about his pride as a man? Was he really going to bear with all this humiliation until he graduated from High School?

Sasori noticed his friend's troubled look. He put down his glass of iced coffee down.

"Lets go to the playground in the park after dinner. You don't have anything on, do you?"

Deidara looked surprised. "Er, no. But why do you want to go to the playground?"

"Don't ask, and eat your food," was all Sasori said.

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"The night breeze is really cool, hn!" Deidara said, as he ran ahead of Sasori and went to sit on on of the swings in the playground. The park was almost empty, except for a few people walking their dogs and some couples sitting on the park benches.

"Feeling better now? You looked so troubled just now," said Sasori.

Deidara looked at his friend. "Hmm, so you noticed?"

"I'm not as dumb as you are," replied Sasori, sitting on a swing next to his friend.

"Hn, if you had to wear a girl's uniform during work for the rest of your high school days, I bet you would get angry too. I don't want to do something I don't like because of money," said the younger teen.

"I'll help you persuade Mrs Uchiha the next time she comes to see Itachi," Sasori offered.

Immediately, Deidara's eyes sparkled. "You really will? Ahhhhh, Thanks a LOT, puppethead!"

"I'm helping you and you call me a puppethead?" Sasori smacked his friend's head hard with his hand as Deidara laughed. The redhead sighed.

"Geez, you sure recover fast. Frankly, are you going to be alright alone in Konoha High? You like to whine and shout, and you aren't from a rich family..."

"Come on, are you implying that I'll be bullied? I don't crumble so easily, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's what makes me worried."

"I don't understand what you are saying, hn."

"OK, whatever, I'll shut up."

Deidara turned to look at Sasori. "You haven't changed since I met you in middle school."

"You broke my favourite puppet on the first day of school, dumbass," said Sasori, scowling.

Deidara looked a little embarassed. "Anyway, Hiruko looked ugly, hn. I was going to comment on how ugly he was when you suddenly came up to me and said in your ultra creepy voice, 'what are you doing?' "

"Hiruko isn't ugly. You are." Sasori sounded offended.

"Whatever. Anyway, will you feel lonely without me as your desk partner?" Deidara smirked.

"Are you very important? What are you, a V.I.P?"

"No, but I'm your good friend! I'm a V.I.G.F. Very important good friend, hn!"

"Shut up!"

"But anyway, when you get a girlfriend, don't forget me ok?" Deidara said, grinning.

"I will never forget you, after what you did to Hiruko." Sasori muttered.

Deidara frowned. "Whatever, hn. I will visit Akatsuki High when I have the time, I promise."

"I take your word for it."

And the two friends spent 2 more hours sitting on the swings, talking about their middle school days.

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_**Location: Uchiha Mansion**_

"Ah, Itachi!" Mikoto said as Itachi stepped into the large house, tired from a day's work, "you're just in time for dinner. Come on in!" She was carrying a small basket of garlic bread.

"Yes, mother," replied Itachi, walking into the dining hall. He greeted his father, and went to sit beside his younger brother.

Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Family and the boss of UIH. He was wearing a pair of gold rimmed spectacles and was reading a book about Konoha High. As his wife made her way to the dining hall, he closed the book slowly and turned to face his two sons.

"Itachi, you will be entering Konoha High next year. I expect you to put in all your effort in studying hard and doing well there. As you know, Konoha High is a much better school than your previous full school. I also have an old friend working in Konoha High; he said that you will be well taken care of. But I want you to achieve things through your own efforts mostly. Is that clear?"

"Yes, father," replied Itachi.

Giving a satisfied nod, Fugaku turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you would have been transferred to Konoha Middle School if you had studied harder, instead of creating those useless webpages and online games. I transferred Itachi to the prestigious Konoha High, because he has proven that he is capable. You should learn from your brother and study harder, and not focus all your time on creating games!"

Sasuke was obviously upset, but he tried to hide it. "Yes, father," he said, looking down at his food. Why was he always being compared to his older brother? After all the achievements he had gotten in the cyberworld, and earning the title of "computer prodigy", his father still wasn't pleased with him.

Mikoto noticed her younger son's expression, and tried to liven things up.

"Ah, the food is getting cold. Lets tuck in! And Itachi, would you mind helping me design a kimono?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What for, mother?"

"You see, New Year's day is coming. And for that day, I would like Deidara-san to wear a kimono and take over Nishida-san's cashier duty. She told me that she won't be able to come to work on that day, and so I thought that Deidara-san would be best suited for the job."

"Isn't Deidara the shabbily-dressed guy we met the other day?" asked Sasuke, taking a bite of his food.

"Oh, that bad-tempered person who called me a weasel," Itachi said.

"Hmm?" Fugaku looked at his older son.

Mikoto smiled. "He's really adorable, you know. The other day, I was looking for Itachi in the store when I heard a customer say, 'excuse me, miss" to him, and you should have seen his face. It turned bright-red, like a tomato!"

"Oh, so the customers think that he is a girl!" Sasuke said, laughing.

Itachi coughed. "I gave him a female staff uniform because there wasn't any male staff uniform in the uniform closet, and we couldn't have him working in the store with his shabby clothes. I thought he could pass off as a girl for that week. And when you saw him in his work uniform, you insisted that he wears it for work. Until he quits his job. You are a funny person, mother."

"Well, since he's so adorable, I thought that he would look good in a kimono. So, help me design one, ok?" Mikoto gave Itachi a hopeful look.

"...Yes, mother." Itachi said, imagining Deidara in a kimono, his long hair tied up in a bun.

Sasuke grinned. "I should really go to the stationary store at First Street on New Year's day."

"I would like to go too," said Mikoto happily.

"Well then," said Fugaku, clearing his throat, "why don't we visit Itachi's workplace before we go to visit our relatives? Then we can see the person who called Itachi a weasel."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

"This is bad, hn."

Deidara was standing behind the counter, dressed in a light blue kimono with beautiful flowery patterns printed on the cloth. His hair was tied into a bun, with a wooden chopstick holding it firmly in place. He was feeling extremely embarassed.

"Argh, this sucks! That stupid, ugly weasel!" He exclaimed as he took a book from a customer and put it into a paper bag.

"Uh, excuse me..."

Deidara looked up. The customer was giving him a strange look.

"Is there anything wrong with me? I know I didn't put any mascara today, but...do I look that ugly? I don't think I look like a weasel though..."

Suddenly Deidara realized what was going on.

"Uh,em, no! No! You look perfectly fine, miss! I was just remembering something - uh - I was bitten by a weasel two days ago!"

"Oh, I see. Poor thing. Then, do I look pretty today?" The lady asked.

Deidara looked at the woman. Oh my gosh, she looked like a box of colour pencils - she had a pair of diamond earrings, a big, shiny ruby necklace, gold rings, silver bracelets, colourful plastic bangles, green hairclips all on her. Plus, her dress looked like a rainbow.

"Um - yeah! You look beautiful. Gorgeous! Like a princess," replied Deidara, who secretly thought the opposite of what he had just said. He handed the delighted customer a paper bag of books, and the lady happily danced away.

"Geez, she should go and find herself a mirror to look at, hn," Deidara thought aloud when she had left the store. There weren't many customers in the store as it was New Year's day, and most people were visiting their relatives.

"_Stupid_ puppethead didn't tell me that he had taken a day's leave," he grumbled, "and I would have been sleeping at home now if the _weasel_ hadn't ordered me to wear this _stupid_ kimono and take over Nishida's_ stupid _cashier duty. He refused to let me take a day's leave, hn. What an idiot!"

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**This morning:**

"Wear this today. You'll be taking over Nishida's cashier duty," said Itachi, handing Deidara a set of clothes.

"Eh, what's this?" asked Deidara.

"A kimono. Sasori said you like the colour blue. So, there should be no complaints about the colour, right?" With that, the taller teen started walking away.

'A kimono. A _kimono. _A KIMONO?!" Deidara exclaimed, nearly dropping the kimono he was holding.

"Don't you know what a kimono is?" Itachi said, without turning to face Deidara, "anyway, don't spoil it, or you'll have to pay me quite a large sum of money."

"WHAT?! Hey, I didn't ask for you to make me a kimono. I'm not wearing it!" Deidara shouted, putting the kimono on a nearby table.

Itachi sighed. He knew that something like this would happen, and was ready with an answer.

"Wear it, or I will fire you."

Deidara cringed. No way! Stupid, heartless weasel...

"And also, my family will be coming later on to visit you. Mind your manners, or I will fire you." The Uchiha disappeared down the hallway.

Deidara was left speechless.

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" 'Or I will fire you! Or will fire you!' He keeps using that to scare me, hn," said Deidara, feeling very irritated. "One day, I shall slap him until his cheeks get swollen!"

"Hmm?" A familiar voice said from behind him. Deidara gave a jump. It wasn't Itachi's voice, though...whose voice was it...

Ah, Sasuke.

Deidara heaved a sigh of relief. It was a good thing that Itachi hadn't heard him.

"Insulting my brother? Don't worry, you can continue insulting him," said the spiky-haired Uchiha, grinning, "and you look cute in that outfit. You should wear kimonos more often."

"Ah, Deidara-san!" Mikoto came over excitedly, "you look** beautiful!**"

"Uh...thanks..." Deidara said quietly, as Fugaku walked up to the cashier counter.

"Hmmm...so you're the person who called my older son a weasel?" he asked in his deep voice.

Deidara's forehead began to sweat. 'This man must be Fugaku Uchiha,' he thought, 'I'm doomed!'

Mikoto patted Deidara's head gently. "Oh, honey, don't scare him," she said, "I'm sure he was just joking!"

"Hmm? Was I being scary?"

"You were. You looked so fierce."

"Oh, I see. Well, did I look very fierce when I first met you?"

"Yes."

"Rubbish, Mikoto."

"I'm serious!"

"Alright, alright. Now, let us find Itachi and we can go to visit our relatives."

Deidara sighed.

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And so, High school started. The next day, of course.

Konoha High was a very big school. It had antiques all over the place, and a solid gold statue of the school's founder in the school park. (yes, the school has a park.) It had bronze desks, bronze chairs, bronze cupboards...even the frames of the goal posts on the large soccer field were made of bronze. Apple trees and pear trees were grown in the school compound, and students were allowed to pick the fruits from the trees and eat them.

The principal of Konoha High was Sarutobi, an old man who always had a grumpy expression on his face. He strongly objected to woodwork, as he thought that it was low-class. This was why woodwork courses were not taught in Konoha High. There were rumours that Sarutobi was jealous of the first principal's ability to make puppets, antique tables, chairs, sculpture...well, anything out of wood. (The first principal was well-known for making things out of wood. This earned him the title as 'wood ninja'.) Sasori was upset about the fact that this rich school didn't think well of woodwork. He tore the school transfer brochure up as soon as he saw "no wood working courses taught in Konoha High as it doesn't suit our high-class school" printed on the paper.

After a boring entrance ceremony, all the students made their way back to their respective classes. There were nine classes altogether; 4 classes specialised in the arts, and the rest specialised in science. For the arts classes, Gai taught dance, Kakashi taught drawing/painting/clay sculpting, and Kurenai taught fashion designing, and Asuma taught photography. Deidara, of course, was in Kakashi's class.

The first impression Deidara got of his grey-haired teacher wasn't very good. He looked like a lazy bum who had just gotten out of bed and hadn't bothered to gel his hair properly. Also, he was reading a porn magazine in class when the students started pouring into the classroom.

His excuse for it?

"You must not see porn as a bad thing. Porn is art! I was inspired by porn to take up art classes, and here I am now, teaching art in a fine school," he said when a student asked him why he was reading the magazine in front of all his students.

Deidara rolled his eyes. Excuses, excuses!

Looking around, he could see many unfamiliar faces. Some looked snobby, others looked timid. Some were cheerful, the others looked like they had failed their examinations. Deidara sighed. He was starting to feel that High school wasn't a good thing.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was his desk partner, a friendly looking guy called Kiba.

"Hey, you don't you look like you were from Konoha middle school. Did you transfer here?" he asked.

"Yeah."

The other boy smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kiba. What's your name?"

"Deidara. Nice to meet you too, hn. Hey, is that teacher crazy or something?" asked Deidara, pointing at Kakashi.

"Crazy? Maybe he is, but I heard that he can draw very well. Especially still objects like vases and flowers. His drawings are identical to the objects he draws! Rumour has it that he knows this technique called the sharingan, so he can copy objects very well."

"Hmm..." Deidara looked at Kakashi. The teacher was still reading his magazine.

"Most of the students from this class are from the middle school section, so we know each other quite well. Other than you, the other transfer student is a long haired guy called Uchiha Itachi. I heard that he is the oldest son of the boss of the big company, UIH."

Deidara's eyebrow twitched at the mention of Uchiha Itachi.

"Uchiha Itachi?" he gasped.

Kiba nodded. "He's just behind you."

Deidara jumped. What was happening? He turned around to look, and found that Kiba was right. The cold-looking teenager was sitting quietly in his seat. Somehow, a girl called Yumiko, who was sitting beside Itachi, was grinning happily and staring at Itachi. Ugh, an Uchiha Itachi fangirl.

"Y-y-you attend this school too?" Deidara asked, very shocked.

"Yes," replied Itachi, ignoring Yumiko's staring, "is there any problem?"

"Yes, there is! Stupid, idiot - "

"Weasel," finished Itachi.

"Yeah, you're right - I mean, wrong! Anyway, why are you in this class!?"

Itachi looked at Deidara. "Why can't I be in this class?"

"Because - because you are a stupid weasel, hn!"

"You're angry because I made you wear a kimono during work, right?" Itachi folded his arms.

Kiba looked amused. "You wore a kimono during work?"

Deidara's face immediately turned red with embarassment.

"ITACHI, YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC WEASEL!"

"No name-calling in class, Deidara-chan," said Kakashi, looking up from his magazine. "Girls should not call people names."

"It's Deidara-kun, sensei," corrected Itachi, "he's a guy."

Suddenly, the whole class turned to look at Deidara. Then, lots of whispering began.

"Hmm, so that girl is a guy?"

"That person looks so much like a girl!"

"So he's a guy, not a girl!"

Deidara's face turned redder and redder. Then he turned around, stood up, boxed Itachi in the face and ran out of the classroom. Kiba immediately got out of his seat and ran after his desk partner.

And Itachi was left with a bleeding nose.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 **

Konoha High was very big indeed. There were so many large halls, rooms and corridors. Deidara, not knowing where he was his destination, kept on running and running, his face still flushed with embarassment.

Deidara was especially sensitive to the topic of his looks. In the past, whenever he was teased for looking like a girl, He would always go running off to find Sasori, and the redhead would tell him off. Strangely, Deidara would feel better after that. It was as if Sasori was his elder brother whom he could trust and rely on.

But now, in Konoha High, there was no Sasori to run to. And the school was like a big maze. Once you got stuck in it, it was very difficult to get yourself out of it unless you had a map. After a while, Deidara found himself lost in the middle of nowhere.

The childish, stubborn teenager could not bring himself to think about what would happen if he got back to class. He would probably be sent to detention for the whole year, since the person he had boxed was Uchiha weasel. The eldest son, most likely the heir of UIH. So, he wandered around the school aimlessly, trying to find someone he knew. Which was most unlikely, of course.

'Well, what Tobi said was completely rubbish. There aren't any bronze lockers here, for goodness sake!' Deidara thought as he walked along the huge corridors. He had cooled down a bit already, thanks to the cool air-conditioning in the corridors. The black-and-white floor tiles were awesome though. Deidara, who was starting to feel a little bit bored, started hopping on all the white tiles, pretending that the black tiles were holes in the ground. He was so busy hopping that he didn't notice the door of the nearest room slide open.

**BANG!** Deidara collided into something and fell onto the floor. He anxiously got up to apologise, only to realize that he had collided into...

"Uchiha Itachi!?"

The "weasel" turned around. He had a plaster on his sore nose, and looked as if nothing had happened.

"You - you - what are you doing here?"

"And what are you doing here," Itachi asked, rubbing his head, "hopping on the white tiles like a little kid?"

Deidara was starting to feel irritated, but controlled his anger. He knew what would happen if he boxed Itachi again. "So, why are you skipping class? I thought you were supposed to be a very _studious_, handsome teacher's pet?"

"Hmmm, so I'm not a weasel anymore?" Itachi seemed more pleased than upset.

"You - "

"And anyway, the pot is calling the kettle black, huh. I am here to get treatment for my bleeding nose. But _someone_ skipped class because he wanted to play_ hopscotch_." Itachi pointed towards a sign on the door of the room he had just stepped out of.

'**INFIRMARY **_- DR KABUTO IS ON DUTY TODAY FROM 8:30AM TO 4:30PM'._

Deidara's jaw dropped.

"I thought bloody noses only required tissue paper."

Itachi looked surprised. "Hmm, so middle-class people like you use tissue paper, huh? I'm sorry to say that, in rich schools like Konoha High and my previous middle school, tissue paper is not what we use to treat bleeding noses. We have to use ice packs, plasters and antiseptic creams. Sometimes, a doctor needs to be called to see if there is any serious blood clot. Also, tissue paper contains lots of dust, which is definitely not suitable for me."

"I thought that for bleeding noses, the blood is supposed to clot. That way, your nose won't bleed anymore."

"But what if there is an extra-serious blood clot? That'll be bad! And, the doctors in our school have to have at least two certificates from the doctor's college."

"What the -"

"Whatever. Just get back to class right now. Kakashi-sensei has been looking all over for you since you ran out of the classroom. Kiba gave up chasing you - you ran away too quickly." With that, he pulled Deidara away from the infirmary, but Deidara pulled away from Itachi.

"I don't feel like going back to class. I think I'm gonna skip."

Itachi frowned. "Why?"

Anger flooded Deidara instantly. "You know why, idiot. If you were in my shoes I bet you would understand why I ran out from the classroom!"

"Apparently, I still don't."

"YOU IDIOT WEA-"

Suddenly, the door of the infirmary slid open, and a man with grey hair and silver rimmed glasses looked out into the corridor.

"Ah, Itachi-san, you haven't gone back to class yet? You should get back to class now, or Kakashi-sensei will not be very pleased," he said. Then he noticed Deidara standing beside the Uchiha.

"Hmm, your friend? Is he injured too?" Kabuto asked, smiling.

"He injured me," said Itachi.

"He - he bullied me!" Deidara cried. He was trying to get Itachi into hot soup for revenge. And it worked, somehow. A tall, long-haired teacher with slit eyes came out into the corridor as well.

"Itachi-san, you bullied your friend? My, my. You shouldn't have done that. Say sorry to your friend at once!"

Itachi didn't look very happy to see the teacher. "Yes, Orochimaru--sensei," he said, and turned to face Deidara. "Deidara-san, I am very sorry for what I did. Please accept my apologies."

Deidara was about to say something in protest when Itachi suddenly gave a quick bow to Orochimaru and pulled Deidara away from the infirmary. They only came to a stop when they had walked 5 rooms away from the dreaded teacher.

"Hey, what's with you? Why were you so scared of that teacher? He seemed quite nice..."

"Nice my foot," said Itachi, "he's Orochimaru-sensei. No one likes him very much, maybe except Dr Kabuto. No one knows why Orochimaru-sensei goes into the infirmary very often. He doesn't look injured. Anyway, don't go near him. He's not a good person. That's what 90 of the students here say."

"...Alright, noted. And...er, I'm sorry for saying that you bullied me...after hearing things about the Orochimaru guy... Seeing you bow to him, I feel bad..."

"Apology accepted. Now, lets go back to class."

Suddenly, Deidara realized something.

"Hey," he said, looking up at Itachi, "if you are new to this school, you shouldn't be able to walk around without getting lost on your first day of school. So how are we gonna get back to class? I don't know how to get back, you know."

Itachi smiled. "I have my own genius plan." With that, he took out his - gulp - _89th_ cellphone from his pocket and pressed some buttons. 10 seconds later, a small map of the school appeared on the screen of the cellphone, and a two smiley faces which represented Itachi and Deidara.

Deidara stared at the whole process as if he was watching someone buy a 10-carat diamond.

"Wow, that was amazing!"

"Really? I think so too. This is the newest model I have. It has a camera, MP4, radio, internet access and this special map function," said Itachi proudly. " In any case, every high-class function which your cellphone doesn't have. Now, lets go." With that, he started to walk away.

Deidara groaned. 'I don't even have a cellphone, stupid weasel,' he thought as he trudged slowly behind Itachi.

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**Location: Akatsuki High**

**Time: Lunchtime**

Sasori was in a daze when Tobi snapped his fingers in front of the redhead's face.

"Hey, what's up? You look so...dazey."

"There's no such word as 'dazey,' Tobi," said Sasori irritatedly. His mood had gone heywire ever since Deidara transferred to Konoha High.

"There is!" argued Tobi.

Sasori glared at Tobi. "Shut up or you'll find yourself unconscious in 5 seconds."

Hidan looked at Sasori. "Oi, you've been really moody ever since Dei-chan left. Are you ok?"

Tobi smiled. "Of course he's not ok! Deidara-sempai's gone. Sasori-sempai misses Deidara-sempai. Is this lov - OW." Tobi received a punch from Sasori, and lay unconscious on the floor.

"Good, the noisy parrot is gone," said Kakuzu.

"K,O!" exclaimed Hidan, clapping his hands.

"That's not the point. Sasori, are you worried for Deidara?" Pein asked.

The redhead felt his cheeks grow hot. "I am not worried for him! In fact, I'm happy that he's gone."

"It doesn't seem like it," said Konan, "you were never like this when Deidara was around."

"That was because he kept coming to me and asking me to solve his stupid problems for him! Now that he's gone, I feel really great."

Hidan raised an eyebrow. "You sure, puppethead? I think you would be happy to help him solve his problems. In the past, no matter how busy you were or how complicated Dei-chan's problem was, you would always go to his aid. Admit that you're worried for him already, dumbass!"

Sasori threw his sandwich at Hidan. "Go away," he said.

Kakuzu caught the sandwich in his hand. "Your expression tells us everything," he said, grinning.

"Yeah," said Hidan, "you can tell us what's on your mind. We know you love Dei-chan. And we're supporting you all the way!"

"Yeah, so what's bugging you?" Pein asked.

Sasori hesitated for awhile, then sighed.

"The brat always comes whining to me...about people calling him a girl. You know he's really sensitive to comments like that. I'm really worried..."

"That he'll have no one to run to and say, 'Sasori! Blahblah just said I was a girl! What should I do?' in his new school?" Hidan asked, imitating Deidara's voice and actions.

"Shut up," said Sasori, resting his head on his hands.

Pein put his hand on Sasori's shoulder. "Don't worry, Sasori," he said assuringly, "I'm sure Deidara will be able to cope with his new school's enviroment. Besides, we can always go to visit him on weekends, and you see him five days a week at work. You can always ask him how he's getting along in his new school."

"Yeah, I guess so."

At that moment, the lunch bell rang and Tobi woke up.

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It was a free period when Deidara and Itachi got back to class. As Itachi slid open the door, everyone turned to look at him. The Itachi fangirls were glaring at Deidara, and at the same time, admiring Itachi.

As Deidara avoided the angry looks that were shot in his direction, a pink-haired girl and a blond-haired girl walked up to him.

"Hey, you're the girly guy who boxed Itachi-kun, right?" asked the blond-haired girl. Her name was Ino, and her father was the boss of the major flower company, Yamanaka Flowers Company.

"As expected of a rude middle-class guy. Have more manners, will you? Don't go around boxing people as you please, especially Itachi-kun," added the pink-haired girl. Her name was Sakura Haruno, and her father was the boss of a cloth-dyeing company.

Deidara looked at the two girls for a while. Then he sighed, and turned away from them. This made the two Itachi fangirls angry.

"Don't ignore us, girly guy," said Ino angrily, "we're talking to you."

"Yeah," said Sakura, "you should be happy that we even bothered to speak to you. I bet no girl would want to go near you or date you, judging by your looks."

"I bet no one even wants to look at you two, so you came over to make trouble, just to get attention. That's what girls in my ex-class did," said Deidara, not looking up at the two girls.

Sakura scrunched up her fist. "You - you girly guy, do you realize what you are saying?"

"Of course, or I wouldn't have said anything to you. Talking to people like you guys is pointless. So, your reaction tells me that I've hit the nail on the head, right?"

Ino's face turned red. "No, girly guy! We're - we're here to - to defend Itachi-kun! You boxed his nose, so you should apologise to him right now!"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Shut up already, will you?"

Sakura gritted her teeth in fury. Then, she pointed to Itachi's empty seat (he was at the other side of the class, talking to the class monitor) and said, "You'd better apologise to him now, or you'll regret it. I'll punch you so hard that you'll fly to Mars!"

"Yeah, and don't belittle her!" Ino said, putting her hands on her hips, "Sakura has super-human strength. One punch from her and you'll be gone from this school."

"Hey, have you two talked enough? Sensei's here," said Kiba, feeling quite irritated by the two stupid girls.

Throwing a dirty look at Deidara, the two girls quickly scurried back to their seats. Kiba looked at Deidara sympathetically.

"That's how those two are. Actually, they don't like Itachi, but they like his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. Since you injured Sasuke's older brother, Sakura and Ino aren't going to let you off so easily."

Deidara gaped at Kiba. "How on earth did they even know Sasuke in the first place? Was he in Konoha Middle School?"

"Ah, no. He was in another middle school. Last year, that computer prodigy came over to our middle school to give us a talk on computers and webpage creating. And then, those two idiots got infatuated with him and started stalking him. They even hired P.Is to follow Sasuke, and if he was going out with any girl, they would find the poor girl and threaten her not to go near Sasuke again. Of course, I think Sasuke dislikes them. Which guy would like a girl who stalks him?"

Deidara sighed. The two girls were such a pain in the neck. And now, since he was the enemy of almost every girl in the class, he knew that life in school was going to be tough.

Of course, he blamed it on the weasel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"And I tell you, he's so irritating. He's the reason why almost all the girls in my class dislike me. Especially a pink haired brat and a flower girl," said Deidara, angrily stacking books up on the shelf.

"Brats naturally are drawn to brats," said Sasori, sorting out boxes of colour pencils. He was quite relieved to see that Deidara hadn't actually cried or got himself kicked out of Konoha High.

Deidara scowled. "Whatever! Now, no girl will want to date me, because I've hurt precious Uchiha-sama," he said sarcastically.

"Oh? Wasn't the "I boxed Uchiha Itachi" incident confined to your class?"

"No, thanks to the stupid girls who spread the news so fast, and the pink-haired girl and the blond-haired girl. Fancy starting a "Uchiha Itachi" fanclub two days after school started! What's so good about him, anyway?"

Sasori shrugged. He secretly felt happy that the girls hated Deidara, for some reason. He suddenly remembered Tobi's irritating voice calling out in his brain: 'Is this love? Is this love? Is this looooovveee?"

"Argh, shut up already, asshole!" The redhead smacked his head hard to shake off that voice. Deidara and a few customers in the store gave Sasori a weird look.

"Hey, what's gone into you? Are there mosquitoes around here?"

"Shut up, there's none," said Sasori quickly. What was he thinking about anyway?

Just then, Uchiha Weasel walked up to the two friends. He was smiling - Deidara sensed something bad.

"Hello, Deidara-san, Sasori-san," he said politely. Deidara couldn't tolerate it.

"Cut the formal act already, weasel," he said.

"Is this how you treat your superior? Hmm, I could have you fired anytime you know. Yeah, you know."

"Is this how a superior treats his colleagues?" Deidara asked angrily.

"Anyway, Deidara-san, I am here to remind you to pack your bags for the camping field trip next week." Itachi's smile grew wider.

Deidara stopped growling at Itachi as he remembered what had happened two days ago.

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**Deidara Flashback 1.0**

_"We are going to go on a field trip to Hokage Mountains. We'll be staying in the five-star hotel resort on top of the mountain, owned by Hinata-san," said the class monitor as everyone started chattering among themselves. Neji Hyuuga was sulking of course; his father was the boss of the branch office of Hyuuga Holdings, so he only owned 3 pathetic four-star hotels, one five-star hotel, a golf course and two theme parks. Hinata was different; her father was the boss of ALL the branches and the main office of Hyuuga Holdings, so she owned triple of what Neji owned - and even more. (And Neji Hyuuga was jealous of her, so he always tried to make her feel bad.)_

_"Ooohh! For how many days?" Tenten asked, raising up her hand._

_"Four days," replied the class monitor, "we'll be handing out the consent forms to you all now. Now, I shall tell everyone what we are going to do there. Firstly, we're going to enjoy a full day at the resort's theme park and arcade. Then, we'll go swimming and water-sliding at the enormous water slide. Next, we'll be visiting the Hokage Street Shopping Centre, and on the last day before we go off, we'll be climbing Hokage Mountain!"_

_Several girls squealed happily when they heard "shopping centre". The guys started grinning when they heard "theme park". They could take girls for dates!_

_"But, you all will have to choose someone as a field trip buddy. You must stick with that buddy at all times. You all will be sleeping in seperate rooms; though your room will be next to your buddy's. To be fair, we shall draw lots."_

_"Hinata-san," said Kiba dreamily. He liked the shy, timid Hinata Hyuuga since they were in middle school. _

_Deidara sighed, put his head on his desk and went to sleep._

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"I told you, I'm not going for the trip! Just tell the class monitor I'm ill or something! I'M NOT GOING!" Deidara yelled.

Sasori looked surprised. "You usually are the first one to say 'yes' to field trips and camping trips, Deidara. Why the sudden change?"

"Because - BECAUSE - I'M PAIRED WITH HIM! He's my field-trip buddy! Stupid Kiba wanted Hinata-san, so he dumped me and went to look for her!"

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**Deidara Flashback 1.1**

_"Naruto-kun and Sakura-san," said the class monitor, pulling out two slips of paper from a cardboard box. _

_"What? I'm with Naruto?!" Sakura suddenly stood up and banged her hands angrily on her desk. _

_"Sakura-chan, I'll be your partner for the next few days. Please take care of me," said Naruto Uzumaki, grinning. He liked Sakura, but Sakura didn't like him. She only had eyes for her precious Sasuke-kun._

_Sakura scrunched up her fist. "I'll - I'll take care of you now, Naruto!" she shouted angrily, raising her fist and punching Naruto in the face._

_The class monitor ignored them. "OK, next up...we have, Itachi-kun..."_

_All of a sudden, all the girls turned to face the class monitor. Everyone wanted to know who would be the lucky person who would get to be Itachi's field trip partner. _

_"...Deidara-kun."_

_Deidara was sleeping on his desk when this announcement was made. Everyone was looking at him, espcially those spoilt girls. _

_"Ehhhh?! Deidara-kun? He's so lucky!"_

_"Eeew! He boxed Itachi-kun, so how can he possibly be Itachi's partner? Class monitor, have another draw!"_

_"Deidara-san just ruined my day!"_

_Itachi was already starting to grin. He noticed Deidara sleeping soundly on his desk, and went over to sit on Kiba's empty seat. (Kiba was talking to Hinata)_

_"Hey, Deidara," he said, tapping the sleeping teenager, "I'm your field trip buddy for the upcoming field trip to Hokage Mountains." _

_"Mmmm? Hnnnnn. Buddy...is it Sasori? No...is it Itachi? Yeah...field trip partner..??...HUH?!"_

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"Dumped?" Sasori asked, confused.

"No, Deidara-san. We drew lots, so everything was fair," Itachi said.

"In any case, I am not going for the field trip! I say no to drugs, stealing and being your field trip buddy for four sickening days, hn!"

"You have good moral values, Deidara-san. Unfortunately, you will have to come with me. I will not be buddy-less on that day."

"Shut up, hn! You could go and find Sakura and Ino. They would love to partner you for the field trip, and would probably love to give you a few lovely kisses too," snapped Deidara.

"I do not like those girls," stated Itachi plainly, "and if you don't come, you will regret it."

Deidara scoffed. "And why?"

The 'weasel' smiled. "I will** fire **you if you don't turn up. If you are late for the trip, I will subject you to _72 hours of shelving books and sorting stationary."_

Deidara's jaw dropped as Sasori looked at his friend sympathetically.

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'So in the end, I had to turn up for this field trip after all.'

It was a bright, sunny Tuesday. Deidara was sitting inside the excursion bus, thinking of the field trips he had gone for in middle school. Itachi was smirking; and Deidara didn't like it.

"What on earth is WRONG with you? You've been like this since we got onto this bus."

"Nothing, really. Anyway, try this new game that Sasuke made. It was inspired by Orochimaru-sensei." Itachi pressed a button on the bus seat and an extremely fine computer game set popped out of nowhere. Deidara stared.

"WOW."

Itachi smiled. "Good, isn't it? Now, follow the game instructions and you can win the game."

"But what does Sasuke have against Orochimaru-sensei if both of them have never met before?"

Itachi sighed. "Well, my foolish little brother was visitng a computer expo one day when he met Orochimaru. And when Orochimaru tried to bribe Sasuke to hack the school's computer system, Sasuke refused. Orochimaru, out of anger, threw Sasuke's beloved P.C onto the floor. It shattered, and Sasuke was so angry with Orochimaru."

"But why would Orochimaru-sensei want to hack the school's computer system?" Deidara asked, choosing a character for the game.

"Orochimaru hates Principal Sarutobi was expelling him from this school when he was younger. So he wants revenge. But you can't blame Sarutobi - would you keep a person like Orochimaru in this school?"

But Deidara wasn't listening anymore. He had started to play the game already, and had done well in completing the first and second level of the game. It was a funny sight to see him straining his neck to get a better view of the game screen. But why? The words were quite big...

"Hey," said Itachi, "are you short-sighted or something?"

Deidara nodded, not taking his eyes off the game screen.

"If so, then why don't you get a pair of glasses?"

"I'd rather spend my earnings on books and clay."

Itachi sighed. This guy, always talking about his art, ready to skip his three meals just to buy a book about art...Now, he wouldn't even take care of his eyes!

"Hey," said Deidara, "then how about you? Why are your eyes always so shiny?"

Itachi felt like laughing. "Because of my contact lens. Made with the finest materials."

"Huh? What's a contact len? Something like a telescope, hn?" Deidara asked. He was clueless about contact lens - he had never seen anyone wear a pair of contact lens before.

"No," said Itachi, stifling a laugh, "it's something like a pair of glasses, except that its a thin piece of plastic and it works like spectacle lens...enabling you to see things more clearly. You haven't heard of people wearing contact lens before?"

Deidara shook his head. "No, I've only seen Sasori and Pein wear their study glasses in class...I've never seen anyone wear contact lens..."

"Hmmm, then I must really show you one day. What a pair of contact lens looks like. You'd look good in glasses, but you'd look even better with contact lens."

Deidara forced a smile. "I'm not interested in looking good, sorry."

Itachi smiled. He then secretly took out a camera from his pocket.

"Hey, what do mice like to eat?" he asked Deidara.

"Uhh...Cheese?" Deidara answered, turning to look at Itachi.

**FLASH!**

Itachi waved a camera in front of his eyes. "Young man, I must say, you look quite photogenic. I shall keep this photo in my thumbdrive."

Deidara looked at the camera screen, feeling very shocked and angry.

"UCHIHA ITACHI YOU WEASEL!"

"Hmm?"

"I AM GOING TO MAKE SURE YOU DROWN IN THE WATER SLIDE POOL, HN!"

"Whatever. Anyway, give me your cellphone number. This way, I'll be able to contact you if you get lost inside the theme park," said Itachi, taking out his cellphone.

"Cellphone number?..."

"Yes, your cellphone number. Don't tell me you don't even know what a cellphone number or a cellphone is."

"I know! But..." Deidara's voice trailed off. It would be embarrassing to tell Itachi that he didn't own a cellphone.

Itachi seemed to be able to read his thoughts. "You don't own a cellphone?"

Deidara's face turned pale. 'This is bad," he thought as he looked away embarrassedly from Itachi.

"I knew it," said Itachi, putting his cellphone back into his pocket.

"Y-yes, so what? Must you own a cellphone to go to school? HN?" Deidara asked angrily.

"No," said Itachi, "but you've just given me an idea."

"What idea? Don't tell me you're going to tell everyone that I don't own a cellphone!"

"I'm not that evil. You'll find out what my idea is when we reach the resort." With that, Itachi sat back comfortably in his seat and closed his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

"WHAT? DEI-CHAN IS ON A FIELD TRIP?" Hidan screeched as the whole class turned to look at him.

Sasori nodded. "And he's Itachi Uchiha's field trip buddy."

Tobi shook his head sadly. "You're finished, Sasori-san! Four days can make love blossom between the two teenagers - OW." One punch from Sasori and Tobi fell onto the floor unconscious.

"Bird-brain," Sasori muttered.

Kakuzu sighed. "He's right, you know. We know you like Deidara. We know, we know."

Sasori felt his cheeks redden. "As a friend," he said.

"More than that," said Konan, folding a paper flower.

"And I suggest that we help Sasori get back Dei-chan before its too late," said Hidan, punching a fist into the air.

"What do you think this is? A drama serial?" Sasori scowled.

"Seriously, Sasori," said Pein solemnly, "four days is more than enough time to make Deidara change the way he sees about Itachi. He might dislike Itachi now, but he might like him after the trip."

"But Itachi doesn't really like Deidara, and vice-versa," said Sasori quietly.

"There are many possibilities in this world, Sasori," said Kakuzu.

"I therefore suggest that you take some action soon, or you'll regret it," Hidan said.

Sasori looked away. "I don't like him!"

"Oh?" Pein asked, "then why are you looking away? You can't hide it from us."

"I said no means no! You guys are just being overly-dramatic!" Sasori said, feeling very irritated. He got up and stormed away, stepping on Tobi's face in the process.

"What?! He obviously does!" Hidan said, folding his arms.

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"This place is humongous!"

Deidara stared at the beautiful theme park with huge, sparkling eyes. It nearly took his breath away. He wanted to do on every ride there was, play every game there was and see everything there was to see in the theme park. After all, they were given a full day to enjoy themselves! The students had put their luggage in their rooms and had been dismissed to play at the resort's theme park.

Itachi stared at the childish brat, feeling amused. Who knew that seeing a theme park could make Deidara this happy?

"Hmmm - shall I go for today?" Deidara thought aloud, looking at the map of the theme park. It was just so exciting!

"Hey," said Itachi, "are you forgetting something?"

Deidara's face fell. He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to follow Itachi throughout this whole trip. Stupid weasel!

"Glad you did remember," said Itachi, smirking again, "anyway, you wouldn't be able to ride anything in this park if you didn't go with me."

Deidara looked surprised. "Why?"

"Because, every ride here is expensive. One ride on the roller coaster costs about two months of your salary."

At this point, Deidara's heart sank. What on earth was this? Oh yeah, he had forgetten that this was a resort belonging to a rich girl. The prices of the tickets would definitely be expensive too. Way too expensive for him to afford even half a ride.

"Yeah, so I can't afford to ride on anything, hn. You can go and play some games now - I'll go back to the hotel room and read a book." With that, he trudged back slowly to the hotel, feeling very disappointed.

But Itachi grabbed his arm. "Hey, I'm not finished talking to you yet."

"What's there to say, hn? I can't ride anything. I didn't bring so much money along with me, hn. Even if I did bring all my savings, I wouldn't spend it on these rides."

"You are going to come with me. You're my field-trip buddy, remember?"

"I have no MONEY! Can't you understand, hn?"

"Then I'll pay for your rides. Since I have to be stuck with you anyway."

"I don't want to owe you anything, hn."

"You will not owe me anything. Just take it as a reward for working in the stationary store."

"HUH?!"

"Just shut up. Don't you understand what I'm saying? OK - if you do not follow me to ride on the rides, I will fire you. Immediately. On the spot."

"That's unfair! Don't keep using 'I will fire you' as something to threaten me, hn!"

"Hey, if you go back on your own, sensei will scold us! I'm supposed to stick with you throughout the whole trip. What's more, you can't go back, cos' Sensei's got all of our room keys and who knows where he is now. So, now, you'd better come with me to the ticket booth."

Deidara was speechless. He couldn't afford to be fired. He also knew that what Itachi said made sense. And he badly wanted to ride on the roller coaster. But...

'Oh well, nevermind. I shall treat this as a reward from my boss, then,' he thought as Itachi pulled him over to the ticket booth and got both of them tickets for every ride. After all, why should he worry? A theme park was no place for worry and sadness!

So Itachi and Deidara went around the theme park, having fun. Deidara even started to feel that Itachi was actually quite nice. Itachi got the both of them popcorn and a cola, and he even got Deidara a balloon because Deidara was staring at it so dreamily.

"You really are a kid," said Itachi said, handing him the balloon.

"Ahh? No I'm not! You bought that pair of goofy sunglasses, you are a kid too, hn!" Deidara said, laughing. He was enjoying himself thoroughly. Itachi looked at Deidara as the latter smiled at him. It was the first time he had seen Deidara smile at him.

'He looks better when he smiles,' Itachi thought.

Next, both of them went to ride on the merry-go-round. Itachi was embarrassed as the people riding on the merry-go-round were mainly kids. He refused to ride the merry-go-round, so Deidara sat on one of the bronze horses and waved at Itachi as he went round and round and round. Itachi took out his camera and snapped a few shots of Deidara, and Deidara started shaking his fist angrily at Itachi.

"Delete them, hn!"

"No."

"Delete the photos right now, hn!"

"Hey, its my camera you know."

"But its my photo, hn!"

The next ride was the most-exciting of all - the roller coaster. Deidara was so happy when Itachi said that they would be going to the roller coaster next. But when they sat down on the roller coaster seat, he began to feel nervous.

"Itachi, this - this ride - will it be scary?"

Itachi looked at Deidara. "Of course it will not be scary," he lied. He wanted to see how Deidara would react when the roller coaster started moving. This ride was the scariest and most exciting ride in the whole theme park!

"O-ok then. Then I shouldn't be feeling so scared..."

The roller coaster started moving. It went so fast that Deidara started shrieking like a mad woman.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ITACHI YOU LIAAAAAAAARRR! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! THIS RIDE IS SCAAAAAAAAAAAAAARYYYYYYYY AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"REALLY? I DO NOT FIND IT SCARY!" Itachi shouted.

"SHUT UPPPPPPPPP! AAARGGGGGHHHH! SASORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! SASORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Itachi felt puzzled. Why was Deidara screaming out Sasori's name? But he had no time to think - Deidara was so scared that he grabbed Itachi's hand tightly. At that moment, Itachi felt his cheeks grow hot.

'What's - happening?" He thought as the roller coaster went down the slope at such a speed that Deidara gripped his hand even tighter. Deidara was so scared that he was now in tears.

"SASORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! HELP MEEEEE! THIS IS SCARYYYYYYY I DON'T WANT TO RIDE IT ANYMOREEEEEE!!"

Itachi sighed. (He had ridden this ride many times so he wasn't scared anymore) Deidara was really a childish brat.

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"It was scary! You lied to me, hn!" Deidara said, still feeling shaky from the ride. They were now at the cafe's theme park, eating lunch.

"If I had not lied to you, you would have jumped of the roller coaster before it even started to move," said Itachi, taking a sip of cola.

"Hn, liar."

"Anyway, just now, you were screaming for Sasori," said Itachi, remembering what he had heard on the roller coaster, "why were you screaming for him?"

Deidara looked up at Itachi. "Uh, well...this sounds weird but, I've always gone to him for help since I met him in middle school. He's really nice to me, and we're best friends. When I'm in deep trouble, he'll always help me. So I'm really used to calling out his name when I'm in trouble, hn."

"Trouble?" Itachi asked.

"Like when people tease me for being a girl. In middle school, a group of people tried to steal my books. Sasori beat them up, and was sent to detention. I felt really guilty that he was sent to detention when he could have minded his own business and watch me being bullied..."

"So, riding that roller coaster was really that scary for you?"

Deidara glared at Itachi. "Of course, hn."

"And, is Sasori that important to you? He's usually quiet and reserved - who knew that he could tolerate a childish brat like you..."

"SHUT UP! I know I'm childish, ok? What about you? Stupid weasel..."

Itachi sighed. What a childish teenager.

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"Itachi! This car racing game is fun! Play it with me!"

"Itachi! This dancing game rocks!"

"Itachi! I'm losing the game! HELP ME!"

Itachi was already quite tired from hearing Deidara's excited voice call for him. They were at the arcade, and it seemed that Deidara was the only one enjoying himself.

"Hey, you done yet?

"No!"

"You've been at that game for an hour."

"Play the game with me, Itachi!"

"No."

"PLEASE?"

"NO!"

**'GAME OVER'.**

Deidara lost control of his car (in the game) and the car banged into the wall. He looked angrily at Itachi.

"Now look what you've done!"

Itachi breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, now lets get out of here. I wanna show you something." He pulled Deidara to a machine with lots of toys and gadgets inside it. There was a huge metal claw in the machine too.

"Hn? What's this?"

"A toy machine, where you direct the metal claw to pick up the toy or gadget which you like, and then if you successfully pull it up, you will win the toy."

Upon hearing this, Deidara's eyes sparkled. "Wow!"

Itachi smiled. He knew Deidara would like to play this game. So, he and Deidara started trying to catch random toys and gadgets. They didn't succeed in winning anything until -

"Hey! I got something!" Deidara said excitedly as the metal claw pulled up a box and dropped it into the slot. 5 seconds later, the box slid out of the machine and Deidara picked it up.

"A cellphone, Itachi!_ I GOT A CELLPHONE!"_ Deidara exclaimed happily, jumping up and down.

Itachi smiled. "Keep it, its yours from now on."

Deidara's eyes widened. "What on earth? I can't accept this. It's yours. You paid for this game, it should go to you."

"But I want to give this to you. You'll need a cellphone. Everyone needs a cellphone. And I don't want people to tease you for not owning a cellphone."

"But - "

"No buts. Keep it. It comes with a cellphone number already, so you can call anyone you like now. Or even send them messages. I will help you register your name with the phone company this evening."

"Whoa, Itachi. Thanks a lot." Deidara said quietly, looking at Itachi.

"No problem. Now, switch on the phone and call anyone you like. Check to see if the phone is working properly."

Deidara nodded excitedly, and switched on the beautiful cellphone. After a few seconds of pondering, he decided whom he would call.

"Hello."

"HELLO SASORI! I'VE GOT A NEW CELLPHONE, HN!"

"Huh? Who's this?"

"I'M DEIDARA!"

"Deidara? Don't shout, stupid! Are you okay? And how did you manage to afford a cellphone?"

"I won it! Itachi and I are now at the arcade in the resort, hn!"

"Oh..."

"How are you doing? I tell you, I went for an extremely scary ride on the roller coaster just now! I was screaming away, hn!"

"That's so typical of you."

"OI! Anyway, the rides in the theme park are really fun! I really wish you could have come for this trip..."

At this moment, Sasori's eyes widened. He dropped the pencil he was holding.

"Uhn...really."

"Yes, hn! Anyway, I can't talk now. I'll talk to you when I get back to the hotel resort. Itachi's giving me this stupid look - _what? I'm talking to Sasori, don't give me that impatient look!_ - I'll try messaging you with this cellphone later. See you!"

"Oh, ok. See you." _Click._

Sasori put his hands on his cheeks. They felt hot.

'_**What was that all about...'**_

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"You called Sasori first, huh?" Itachi asked as the sun began to set.

Deidara nodded. "Obvious, isn't it? You heard me say his name!"

'That's not what I meant,' thought Itachi. "Anyway, enter my number into your phone. That way, I can contact you if I get lost."

"OK, what is your number?"

"I'll help you enter my number into your cellphone." With that, Itachi took Deidara's cellphone and entered his number into the phone. As he pressed the buttons on the cellphone, he was thinking of something.

_'Why is Sasori so important to Deidara?'_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

It was the second day of the field trip. Itachi was all set and ready to go for swimming. He had secretly transferred the photos (that he had taken of Deidara) into his phone, so that he could intimidate Deidara. As he walked out of his room with his gym bag, he realized that Deidara still hasn't left his room. There was a 'do not disturb' sign hanging on the door handle.

It was already 7:30 am.

'Hmm, so he isn't up yet? He's going to be late if he doesn't come out now,' thought Itachi as he went over to the door of Deidara's room and knocked on it. No answer.

"Hey, are you ready yet? You're gonna be late if you don't come out now!"

The door suddenly swung open and there stood Deidara. He had eyebags under his eyes and was looking very tired. He was holding a mug of water in one hand and a tooth brush in another.

"What do you want?" he asked groggily.

'What a joke,' thought Itachi, "Do you realize that it is already very late and you are still brushing your teeth? What time did you sleep yesterday night?"

"2:30 am."

"And why did you sleep so late?"

"I was talking to a friend..."

"...Sasori?"

"Yeah, hn. Now go away and let me brush my teeth in peace!" **BANG. **

The Uchiha stared at the oak door.

_'He called Sasori again?'_ he thought as she heard a some shuffling coming from the inside of the room. 5 minutes later, Deidara appeared at the door, with a small gym bag and his hair tied into a high ponytail.

Itachi stared at Deidara. "You look like a cheerleader."

"Is that so? I think I look like a samurai," said Deidara, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Whatever it is, lets go for breakfast, I bet your eyes will open up when you see the breakfast hall."

"You went to see it already?"

"Yeah, because I woke up early and had nothing to do."

And Itachi was right. As soon as Deidara saw the breakfast hall, he nearly dropped his gym bag in astonishment.

"Itachi - is this a ballroom or a breakfast hall?"

"It is a breakfast hall inside a ballroom," replied Itachi, calmly striding into the breakfast hall. He chose a seat near the window where one could see the full view of the water slide park, and sat down. Deidara followed slowly, not taking his eyes off the beautiful room.

"Obviously, you are a middle-class citizen," Itachi said, putting down his gym bag.

"This - this is so extravagant, Itachi!"

"Oh? I don't find it extravagant. In fact, this place is about the size of my bedroom."

Deidara's jaw dropped. His whole house was thirty-five times smaller than this huge room.

"Anyway, this is a buffet-style breakfast, so go and pick any food you want."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you about breakfast?"

So Deidara went to the tables which had mountains of food piled up on them. There were scrambled eggs, fried bacon, fish porridge, fried noodles, toast with butter and jam, miso soup and other fine delicacies that Deidara had never seen in his whole life. Itachi just casually breezed through the room, taking whatever food he desired without even having to stop and figure out what the foods where.

Seeing Deidara squinting at one of the food labels, Itachi sighed and walked over to his field-trip buddy.

"What are you doing?"

"Itachi! What is this word, hn? I can't read it...the font is too small!"

"In any case, just take some of everything. Everything here is delicious. Your eyesight makes me wonder how you read your clay sculpting books without spectacles." With that, he scooped up some noodles and put them on Deidara's plate.

"Oh, well, I use a magnifying glass. It's cheaper than a pair of spectacles and it works, really! But sometimes I forget to bring it to school."

Itachi was stunned.

_'He really needs spectacles...'_

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After eating breakfast, Deidara and Itachi, with the rest of the students, went to the water slide park with Kakashi-sensei. Everyone knew how to swim, except Deidara. So, to avoid being laughed at, he feigned dizziness, secretly snuck away from the rest of the crowd and went to sit on one of the beach chairs at the side of the pool. He happily sun-tanned, let down his long hair and lay back to relax. Soon, he fell asleep.

After the teacher dismissed the students to go swimming, Itachi realised that Deidara was missing. He started looking for the troublesome brat, and finally, after 20 minutes, found the troublesome brat sound asleep on one of the beach chairs at the quiet side of the water slide park.

'Heh, so he's lazing here,' thought Itachi, who was thinking of waking his partner up, but stopped when he saw how beautiful Deidara looked like when he was asleep. His long hair cascaded down his shoulders, and reflected the sun's rays. He looked so peaceful that Itachi couldn't help but stare at him. He looked so much like a **girl.**

'This feeling...'

Itachi felt his heart beat fast. A small blush appeared on his cheeks, though he didn't notice it. It was all caused by a hot-tempered, stupid, childish brat? Countless other girls he had rejected - and here he was, having a weird feeling in his chest because of Deidara? No, this couldn't be. He couldn't have taken a liking to this middle-class brat!

Now, Deidara was starting to drool. The cellphone which he had grasped firmly in his hand now dropped to the floor. Itachi looked at it. It seemed that Deidara had been typing a message to someone. Or rather, waiting for a reply from someone.

Curiosity got the better of Itachi; slowly, he picked up Deidara's cellphone and looked at the screen. He knew he wasn't supposed to do this, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to find out who Deidara had been messaging.

_**To: AKASUNA NO IDIOT**_

_**Hey! Do you want to go to the supermarket next Saturday? It's really fun to shop for groceries you know! And the foodstuffs in my house is running out. I can't make my lunch if I don't visit the supermarket.**_

'Its Sasori again,' thought Itachi. His hand clenched the cellphone tightly. After a few seconds, he read the most recent messages Deidara had received.

_**From: AKASUNA NO IDIOT **_

_**Stupid brat! The other time you asked me to follow you to the supermarket, you made me wait for half an hour! But I need to get some shopping done too, so I'll meet you at the bus stop next Saturday at 9am...is that ok? AND DON'T BE LATE.**_

_**From: HIDAN**_

_**OI! HOW'S YOUR FIELD TRIP! PUPPETHEAD SAID THAT YOU'RE PAIRED WITH THE UCHIHA. ENJOYING YOUR TRIP WITH THE WEASEL? :D**_

_**From: KONAN**_

_**Deidara! What should I get Pein for valentines day? I know its really far away but - I can't wait for valentines day! **_

After reading these messages, Itachi felt a weird feeling take over him. Especially after seeing Sasori's name on the screen. He had never felt this way before. It was bitter and not at all pleasant.

_'I shouldn't be feeling this way. Wait, why am I even feeling this way?'_ he thought as he closed Deidara's phone and placed it in gently in his hand, being careful not to wake the latter up. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed.

Deidara opened his eyes very slowly. The sunlight...was so bright. He looked around groggily.

'Wait, where...am I? Oh yeah, the water slide park, hn...Hey...there's someone beside me...he looks like...like...?? ARGH!"

Itachi looked at Deidara. "Is there something wrong, Mr Lazy?"

"YOU! YOU! HOW DID YOU FIND ME HERE!?"

"And why are you not swimming?"

Deidara found himself speechless. No, he couldn't tell Itachi that he didn't know how to swim! But, too bad for him, Itachi could read his mind.

"You...don't know how to swim."

Deidara cringed. This was bad! Why could Itachi read his mind every single time?

"No...I have leg cramps! Yeah. So, just leave me alone here and go and play in the water, ok?" he said quickly, thinking of an excuse.

"You don't have leg cramps. You do not know how to swim. Don't lie to me. For lying to me, you must learn how to swim." He grabbed Deidara's hand.

"Stop! What are you doing? I don't need to learn how to swim!"

"You need to. Don't tell me you haven't gone to a pool or the seaside before."

"I have! But I've never swam before. I've never been taught how to swim. Besides..."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Besides?"

"Sasori cannot swim. He has a phobia for water. So, I always stay on shore and chat with him and laugh at the others."

Itachi felt that bitter feeling come again. "You don't swim because of him?"

"It's my own choice actually, hn."

"Then, I will teach you how to swim." Itachi pulled Deidara to the shallow pool and threw him in. Deidara was so shocked that he screamed as he fell into the pool.

"What are you doing? I'm going to drown!"

"Nonsense. You won't drown. This pool is only 0.58 meters deep. Now, I will teach you how to swim. First, try paddling a little..."

"NO!" Deidara shrieked, splashing water at Itachi. Sigh, what a stubborn brat.

Itachi retaliated by splashing more water at Deidara. Both of them had a water fight, and at last, Deidara became tired and stopped splashing. He was feeling very happy.

"Hey, playing in the water is fun!"

"Isn't it?" Itachi smiled.

"Yes, hn!" Deidara said happily.

"So, do you want to learn how to swim now?"

"Yes, hn!"

Sigh, what a fickle-minded, stubborn, childish brat.

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2 hours later, Deidara had learnt how to swim. He was very proud of himself. He and Itachi was now at the highest water slide in the park, getting ready to slide down the water slide. As they lined up for their turn, they caught sight of Naruto and Sakura at the front of the line. Sakura was very angry.

"Naruto! QUICKLY! There are other people waiting for you to slide down the slide!"

"But, Sakura-chan, the view from up here is just so nice..."

"Nice my foot, you idiot! JUST SLIDE DOWN THE WATER SLIDE ALREADY!" With that, she kicked Naruto's back and Naruto slid down the water slide, screaming.

Itachi sighed. "Girls are very hot-tempered, huh."

Next was Rock Lee and Neji Hyuuga.

"The power of youth, Neji! Isn't it great to be young?"

"Stop babbling nonsense and slide down the water slide," Neji said, groaning.

"OK, Neji!" Rock Lee slid down the slide, shouting "GAI SENSEI! THE POWER OF YOUTH IS REALLY GREAT!"

Neji sweatdropped and slid down the water slide after his partner.

Finally, Itachi and Deidara's turn came. Itachi decided to play a trick on Deidara.

"Hey, look over there. There's a colourful bird on that tree," Itachi said as Deidara sat down on the slide.

"Huh? Where is it - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" In a split second, Itachi pushed Deidara down the slide, making Deidara scream and shriek like crazy.

"ITACHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! YOU IDIOT WEASELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

Itachi smiled. "I don't go for water sliding. I shall be waiting for you downstairs," he said as he turned around and walked to the water proof lift and pressed the 'down' button. As he got into the empty lift, he started wondering what the bitter feeling he had felt earlier was...

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**Time: Next Day, 9:30 AM**

**Location: Hokage Street Shopping Centre**

Itachi and Deidara were at the large shopping centre in the resort. Deidara was quite bored - he couldn't buy anything here! Why did Itachi drag him to some stupid shopping centre which sold mainly branded clothes and expensive things?

Itachi noticed his partner's displeasure.

"Hmm, you look bored."

"Of course I AM bored! I can't buy anything. And I was looking forward to buying some sour plums and sweet figs..."

Itachi hesitated for a while. "OK, we'll go out to the streets after I get this lovely silk scarf for mother. They sell low-priced foodstuffs there. But, I want you to choose something for me first."

Deidara seemed pleased with the idea. "OK!" he said, as Itachi paid for the scarf and brought him to an Optical Shop. There were so many different kinds of spectacle frames - colourful ones, thick-framed ones, thin-framed ones...Deidara couldn't take his eyes off the shelves of spectacle frames.

"You need to get your eyes checked. I am going to get you a pair of glasses and a few boxes of contact lens. You need them. So, go into the eye checking room with the optician now."

Deidara stared. What was Uchiha Itachi trying to do?

"You're gonna sneak up on me in that room and pretend to be a ghost and scare the wits out of me, right?" He said, eyes widening.

"What? No, I am serious about helping you get a pair of glasses."

"I don't need it, hn! I don't want you to get me anything!"

"Why?"

"I'll feel bad. You already gave me this cellphone! Besides, I've already agreed to go with Sasori to the neighbourhood optician to get a pair of glasses. Sasori messaged me last night - he said that he broke his glasses and he needs to get a new pair, so I'm going with him to get myself a pair of glasses too."

Itachi paused. "Sasori?"

"Yeah, hn. Plus Hidan and Kakuzu, if they can make it. They said they might come if they could finish their school project in time. But definitely Sasori."

_'What is Sasori to you, Deidara? Why do you keep talking about him?'_ Itachi couldn't help think.

"Anyway, you needed me to help choose something, right? What do you want me to help you choose?"

_'I wanted you to choose a pair of glasses for yourself,'_ thought Itachi bitterly, but he didn't let that bitter emotion show.

"In that case, lets go buy some sour plums! I bet you haven't eaten them before. C'mon! I'll buy some for you." With that, Deidara grabbed Itachi's hand and ran out of the Optical shop.

Itachi looked his hand. Deidara was holding it. And Itachi felt...he didn't know how he felt.

But to have Deidara hold his hand...for some strange reason, it felt good.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

"Hey, what's with you? You've been looking quite troubled ever since you came home."

Sasuke and Itachi were at their mansion's private gym, running on the treadmills. The field trip had ended smoothly without a hitch, and Itachi had been looking more glum than usual; also, he seemed to be in deep thought.

"Nothing. Just thinking of something."

"Really? But usually when you think, you don't frown," said Sasuke as he stepped off the treadmill, sweating profusely. He grabbed two towels and threw one over to his older brother.

"Thanks," replied Itachi, catching the towel. He wiped off his sweat, stepped off the treadmill and walked over to the table were Sasuke was sitting at.

Sasuke looked at his Itachi suspiciously. "Seriously, what is on your mind now? You look pretty worn out. Is it the trip, or are you too stressed over your school homework?"

"Neither," said Itachi, taking out his cellphone to check if there he had received any messages.

"Or...are you lovesick? Or pining for someone? Or have some unknown secret you would like to tell me?"

Itachi's eyes widened at his younger brother's words. He wasn't exactly pining for anyone, but for some strange reason, when Sasuke said those words, he suddenly thought of Deidara. The lovely image of Deidara sleeping in the sun...

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening!

"I'm going to get some isotonic drinks..." With that Itachi hastily put down his towel and cellphone and walked towards the vending machine outside the gym.

Immediately, Sasuke smelt a rat. It must be. It had to be. That Itachi was lovesick, or pining for someone.

Noticing Itachi's cellphone on the table, Sasuke decided to take a peek at it to see if he could find some clues. He looked at the message inbox. Hmm, not really anything interesting, just some random girls asking him out for a date, and other things. He knew that Itachi didn't like people who kept pestering him for dates and his email address.

He then went to the photos section, and that was where he got some idea of who his brother might be thinking of.

"Hmm, Deidara-san?" He said thoughtfully as he saw the photos that Itachi had transferred into his cellphone. Long, shiny hair, pretty eyelashes, feminine look...

Just then, a hand snatched the cellphone away from Sasuke. It was Itachi.

"What were you looking at?" He demanded, putting the isotonic drinks on the table.

"Just finding out who the person on your mind right now is," said Sasuke, grinning, "It's that middle-class guy, Deidara, right?"

Itachi's face turned a bit red. Sasuke nodded his head.

"Definitely him. But I expect you know this; he has this good friend called Sasori who works in the stationary store at First Street. Both of them are quite close, and I think he likes Deidara-san too. So, I think you've got a rival."

"I know."

"And, Deidara's a middle-class person. He's not rich. You and him lack compatibility in terms of family background and wealth. And Sasori seems to have known him from a way back. So, you're at a disadvantage."

"I do not mind. I will try my best to win him over. I will not let anyone take him."

Sasuke smiled. "Now then, since you have made your point clear, why not we go around the middle-class neighbourhood to learn more about Deidara-san's background?"

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Sasuke brought Itachi to Akatsuki Avenue, the place where Deidara lived. They toured around the housing estates, shopping centres and small stores and schools. With the help of Sasuke's beloved new P.C and clever head, Itachi quickly learnt many things about middle-class people.

"Now, I presume this was Deidara-san and Sasori-san's middle school," said Sasuke, showing Itachi Akatsuki Gakuen (middle school section). "Sasori-san is currently studying in this school - the high school section, of course."

"Hmm, what a small school. It's about the size of our greenhouse at home."

Sasuke nodded, and the two brothers carried on walking.

After walking for a few hours and discovering many new things, both of them felt tired, and went to a cafe at the nearby shopping centre to take a break. Itachi was about to pay the lady a 100-dollar note when Sasuke stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

"Paying the lady. Isn't that obvious?"

"No, you shouldn't do that! The amount you are giving is_ too much!"_

"This is small change, isn't it?"

"In a rich man's world, but here, no one is as rich as us, so our 'small change' is equivalent to a very huge amount of money!"

"But I have no 'extra-small change' with me!"

"I'll pay for it, then." Sasuke paid the cashier a few coins, and brought two steaming hot cups of coffee to a table by the transparent glass window.

"Hmm, its really quite tasty," said Itachi, sipping his coffee.

"Isn't it?" Sasuke said, smiling, "now then, after this, where shall we - _huh?" _His attention was caught by a group of teenagers laughing and chattering in the Optical Shop just directly opposite the cafe which he and Itachi were at.

"What are you staring at?" Itachi asked, turning his head. And there, right before his eyes, were four teenagers, including Deidara and Sasori. The optical shop was quite near to the cafe, so the Uchiha brothers could hear every single word Deidara and his friends said.

"Try this on, Dei-chan. You'll look good in it," Hidan said, showing Deidara a pair of thin-framed spectacles.

"NO! It's so ugly!" Deidara pushed Hidan's hand away.

"It's not trendy to wear thin-framed spectacles now, Hidan," said Kakuzu.

"Heh! What do you know? I know more things than you do! OK, whatever, then let Sasori try it."

Sasori ignored him and picked up a pair of thick-framed spectacles.The black frame was made of plastic and was surprisingly light. He put the spectacles on and looked in to the small side-mirror.

"How do I look?" He asked, but before he even turned to look at the rest, Deidara was squealing.

"You look so cuuuuuuuuute!" Deidara said happily, hugging him from the back. Sasori froze for a second, then quickly regained composure and tried to push of the childish brat off his back.

"Get off!"

"NO!"

"Get off right now!"

"NO, HN!"

"Argh! GET OFF MY BACK!"

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! You look so nice in this, Sasori. Get this pair, ok?"

Sasori sighed. "I intend to, stupid. Now, how about you? You need a pair of spectacles - you've been squinting at words for goodness knows how long - argh, GET OFF ME!"

But Deidara simply refused to let go of Sasori. He thought it was funny to see Sasori get angry. And Sasori really did look cute.

"Hn, ok! I think I like this pair the best..." With that, he picked up a pair of thick-framed glasses (brown in colour), and put them on. He looked in the side-mirror.

"Do I look nice?" He asked happily, turning to face the others. Everyone, including Itachi and Sasuke, stared at him. He looked really good in those spectacles!

Itachi's cheeks turned a shade of pink when he saw Deidara wearing the spectacles. His heart began to pound fast.

_'That feeling again...'_

Sasori's heart began to race. "Deidara, you look...great," he said quietly.

"Really? If you say so, then this pair of spectacles must look really good on me. If Hidan gave me his opinion, I'd puke!"

"What did you say, DEI-CHAN?"

"SHUT UP! It's true, hn!"

"DEI-CHAN! DEI-CHAN! DEI-CHAN!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT, HN!"

Kakuzu looked at Sasori. Wasn't the redhead's current expression more than enough to account for how he felt towards Deidara?

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Itachi was in a daze when Sasuke snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Hey, what are you thinking about now? How pretty he looked like with those spectacles?"

"..."

"Hmm? Well, from here, I can see that Sasori-san likes Deidara-san. It's pretty obvious. You've got a tough fight ahead..."

Itachi scrunched up his fist. '_Sasori's an obstacle...a big obstacle.'_

But Sasuke smiled, and patted his brother's back. "Let's think of a plan to help you win the fight against Sasori-san."

"What plan do you have in mind?"

"You see, next week is Mother's birthday. She would like a party, and you know her; she really loves parties with lots of people...so, why don't we invite all the staff of all the different stores that Father owns? That way, you can show Deidara-san your good side."

"But Sasori will have to come, too."

Sasuke grinned. "Well, use the opportunity to show Sasori-san that you are better than him, and that you will not lose to him. Get the idea?"

Itachi immediately understood what his brother was saying. If he showed Sasori that Uchiha Itachi was way better than a person with no wealth or status, perhaps Sasori would give up on Deidara. And Itachi was planning to show Sasori how much he liked Deidara. After hearing Sasuke's words, he felt clear on what he wanted to do next.

"Now, which caterer shall we call for the party? And where shall the location be?" Sasuke thought aloud as a plan slowly formed in Itachi's head.

"I have a plan, Sasuke."

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Sasori sighed as he lay back in his bed. He was now in his bedroom, thinking about some things. His grandmother had gone to bed, and the only person awake in his house now was himself.

He recalled what Hidan and Kakuzu had said to him earlier:

**Sasori flashback 1.0**

_"You like him," Hidan said, folding his arms. _

_Sasori's eyes widened. "No, I do not."_

_Kakuzu sighed. "Stop trying to deny it. It's very clear that you like him. Only Deidara doesn't know this. He thinks of you as his best friend..."_

_"I know that. I think of him as one too."_

_"No you don't, Sasori." Kakuzu's eyes were solemn._

_Sasori found himself speechless. It was if there was some voice block in his throat. _

_"The way you treat him - the way you looked at him just now at the Optical shop - you treat him more than a best friend."_

_"But he really looked nice in that pair of spectacles!" _

_"Sasori, you are a clever person. Think about it - you do like Dei-chan. And I think Dei-chan likes you too. Do you want to confess your feelings to him?"_

_Sasori froze in shock. Confess his feelings to Deidara? He had never thought of that before. Ever. It was probably the last thing on his mind right now._

_"You don't want to wait for too long, Sasori," continued Kakuzu, "or someone might just take Deidara away from you."_

He didn't want to think about anything. It was all too confusing for his poor mind. Besides, Deidara's personality was the exact opposite of his. What could he possibly like about the childish brat?

'It's just some hallucination,' he thought as he buried his head into his pillow.

But unknown to him, Itachi had already made up his mind to win Deidara over. While he was still unsure about how he felt towards Deidara, and even denying that he liked Deidara. It seemed that now, though it looked like he had the upper hand in winning Deidara's heart, Itachi would catch up soon...

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**Time: Two days later**

**Location: Stationary Store at First Street **

"My mother's birthday is coming, so we are throwing a party to celebrate. All of you are invited. There is no need to bring any present; its the thought that counts."

Itachi handed out pretty envelopes to every staff member in the store. Deidara's eyes lit up when he heard the word 'party'. He quickly tore open the sealed envelope and took out the colourful card.

"Don't spoil such a nice envelope," Sasori said, carefully tearing the sealed envelope. Deidara stuck out his tongue, opened the card and read it.

"Ah, a poolside party? How nice! Hey Itachi, will we have to go _swimming?"_

"Not compulsory, but it would be best to take the opportunity to swim. The pool is nice and deep, and very big and clean. So, why not go swimming? If you don't swim, what's the point of going to the party...anyway, most of the games will be played in the water..."

Sasori's eyes widened when he heard the words 'pool' and 'swim'. He had a phobia of water, and so he never stepped anywhere near water. He was too afraid of water.

Itachi looked at Sasori. "What's wrong, Sasori? You look pale."

"Nothing," said Sasori quietly.

"Em, Sasori cannot swim, Itachi. Can he be excluded from the water activities, hn?" Deidara asked, noticing Sasori's troubled expression.

"Of course. He can sit by the poolside...but, you will be missing out on a lot of fun, Sasori-san."

"Em, its ok...I don't mind, really." Sasori heaved a sigh of relief. So, he could just sit somewhere far away from the pool and watch them play (from afar). He didn't mind; he could read a book there. Besides, it would be inpolite not to turn up. And he was sure that Deidara would turn up for the party; he did not want to be left behind.

Itachi smiled. The plan was going smoothly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

It was the day of the poolside party. The poolside was decorated with lots of fresh imported flowers, ribbons, satin cloth and gold sparkles. There was a lot of scrumptious food and wine, not to mention guests. Each guest invited (besides the staff members) were high class members of the society; every single woman came in elegant gowns, and every single man came in a smart-looking suit. Made from the finest materials, of course.

Uchiha Mikoto looked stunning in her brand-new cream-coloured silk gown. She had received many expensive gifts and well-wishes, and a surprise party. Fugaku was nowhere to be seen; he was busy entertaining the influential CEOs and company stakeholders who had come to wish Mrs Uchiha happy birthday. And the two Uchiha brothers were talking and keeping the guests company.

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**ITACHI AND SASUKE FLASHBACK**

_"What have you thought of?" Sasuke asked, eyeing his older brother suspiciously. _

_"I was thinking...if I could get the redhead to just stay at the sidelines and watch the party...He can't swim. He has a phobia of water," Itachi said. _

_"You mean..."_

_"Right. So, if the whole party is made up of mainly water activities, he won't be able to join in. So, he'll be forced to sit at the poolside and watch us. Or do whatever he wants. But, since he likes Deidara, he'll look out for him...and if I take the chance to show Sasori how much I care for Deidara..."_

_Sasuke grinned. "Wicked, big brother. But can't you just play by the rules?"_

_"Sasori doesn't seem very sure of his feelings. This is a perfect opportunity. You see, if I do not take action now...I probably might not even stand a chance to win Deidara's heart. By the time he straightens out his thoughts, I would have won Deidara over."_

_"Can't you spare a thought for Deidara's best friend?" Sasuke asked. _

_Itachi smiled. "In this situation, I will not show any emotion for my rival."_

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"So, is your plan going to work?" Sasuke asked, "for all you know, Sasori might not turn up."

"He will. He's a very polite person. Also, he will not want to be left behind by Deidara," replied Itachi, pouring some white wine into a shiny wine glass.

_'You've got it all analyzed...'_ Sasuke thought, loading a tray with wine glasses. As expected of his superb brother.

Twenty minutes later, Deidara arrived with Sasori. He looked very excited, and was practically dragging Sasori along with him. The two friends had greeted Mrs Uchiha and had given her well-wishes already. Sasuke looked at his brother, and the latter nodded in reply. Putting down the tray in his hands, Itachi walked off to meet Deidara and Sasori.

"Hey, Itachi! This place is really _huge! _Sasori and I got lost in your house; we went to the garden instead...but it was worth going there, hn. The bushes were really pretty - well-trimmed and they looked like rabbits..." Deidara said happily. His hair was clipped up with all sorts of funny-looking clips - mushroom clips, flower clips, and other colourful clips. His hairstyle alone already made him look like a girl. A hyperactive, happy girl.

"Thank you," replied Itachi, "oh, and we'll be starting the pool party games in a few minutes. Why don't you guys grab a bite first? The food is delicious."

"Um..." Sasori didn't look too interested. He had only agreed to come out of politeness. He groaned as Deidara pulled him over to the buffet table, forced a plate into his hands and demanded him to take some food. Sighing, the redhead reluctantly took some food and forced it down his throat, under the sharp eye of Deidara.

"Are you sure you will be ok here?" Deidara asked, stuffing food into his mouth, "they might splash you with water, hn. Also, will you be bored out of your mind?"

Sasori shook his head. "No, I'll sit here and watch you guys. I brought along a puppet to work on and pass time - "

Deidara sighed. The redhead was practically in love with his puppets.

"Seriously, are you planning of marrying a puppet next time?" he asked. Sasori ignored him, and continued eating his food. He was in no mood to argue with the childish brat over such obvious things. He was a human being; how could he ever marry a puppet?

Just then, a bell rang and a loud voice rang out in everyone's ears. It was Sasuke.

_**"Attention! All guests, we are going to start our water games now. It will continue all the way until the end of the party. It will be fun, we promise you. Please assemble at the poolside after you have changed into your swimwear."**_

Sasori glanced at the poolside buffet table. Almost all the guests were making their way towards the changing rooms, and some of them had already changed into elegant, expensive swimsuits.

"Go and change now," he told Deidara, who had just finished his last mouthful of food.

"But what about you? If you want to go home early you must tell me, ok? I will go home with you."

"No need for that," replied Sasori, "I have legs, I can walk and I can go home by myself."

Deidara scowled. "I will walk home with you and that's final. You stay here and fix your silly puppet. If you go home without me I will spam your message inbox with messages and send you all the advertisement brochures I receive...my mailbox is full of those stupid brochures." With that, he grabbed his gym bag and walked towards the changing room, leaving Sasori to picture his mailbox being flooded by useless brochures.

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A few minutes later the water games began. Water guns were being grabbed from the pool and the guests soaked each other with water. They played water polo, captain's ball...in any case, a lot of fun games. Sasori, who was watching from the poolside, was starting to feel a little bit envious. If only he didn't have a phobia of water...then, he might be having tons of fun with Deidara and the rest.

He remembered the day his grandmother took him to attend his kindergarten graduation party on board a luxury yacht. The event was hosted a rich student in his class, and the event was fun-packed with all sorts of games and nice things. He had felt a little seasick, and went outside by himself to take a breather. Suddenly, two boys (who were chasing each other) ran past him on the small sidedeck, which was extremly small. Only one adult could stand there at a time. But one boy, when trying to squeeze through the small sidedeck, accidentally knocked into Sasori. Sasori, who had been leaning on the yacht railings, was pushed down into the deep sea, and because he couldn't swim, he nearly drowned to death. Ever since that day, he had developed a phobia for water.

He looked over at Deidara. The happy teenager was carrying a large water gun and busy talking to Itachi. Sasori was puzzled. When did the two become such good friends? Itachi seemed so close to Deidara, it was as if he was Deidara's best friend. Also, both of them were in the same team and both had the same model of water gun. Was it a coincidence?

Suddenly, a loud cheer was made by Itachi's team. They had won the first round of the games. Deidara was so excited about it; he turned to say something to Itachi, and Itachi smiled. Then, the rich teen put his hand on Deidara's hand and held it tight. Sasori's eyes widened.

"Ah, Itachi! It's really great that we won!" Deidara said, shaking Itachi's hands vigorously. He was so happy that he didn't notice what Itachi was doing to him.

"Of course," replied the 'weasel', "there is no time for losing in an Uchiha's lifetime."

Deidara frowned. "Whatever," he said, making a stupid face.

As Sasori watched on, Itachi kept trying to intimidate him by talking to Deidara, or by holding his hand, slapping him on the back, putting his hand on the Deidara's shoulder...And the dumb boy was just too excited to notice what was really going on. Bit by bit, Sasori began to feel sour.

Itachi occasionally would secretly look at the redhead to make sure he was watching him and Deidara. He also kept a watch for the redhead's expression. 'Good,' he thought as he saw Sasori scrunch up his fist, 'the plan is going well.'

Finally, after a few hours of restraining his anger, Sasori got up from his chair, took his puppet and stormed off. Who cared about Deidara's threats of spamming his message inbox or whatsoever? He couldn't take all this nonsense anymore, for some reason. He hastily made his way to the deepest pool, which was near the exit. That place was very quiet, and there weren't any people there, or so it seemed. (Of course, this was because most of the guests were either playing in the other pool or inside the Uchiha mansion classic lounge with Mr and Mrs Uchiha. He was so deep in thought and so angry that he didn't see someone approaching him...

**BANG!** Sasori hit his head on something hard. He rubbed his head, muttered something and looked up to see what it was. He had bad luck that day, really. It was Sakura Haruno and her best friend, Ino Yamanaka.

"Well well, who do we have here? It's not polite to bang into other people you know," said Ino sarcastically, rubbing her head in pain.

"I'm sorry," said Sasori, "But I'm in a hurry, and - "

"Hey, you think that you can just escape from us without a sincere apology? You're Deidara's friend, right? I saw you come in here with him just now." Sakura said, smirking.

Sasori was getting tired of these girls. "Get out of my way, please. I have already given you an apology."

Ino gave a nasty grin. "Not sincere enough, redhead."

"Then what do you want me to do? Help you girls braid your hair?"

Sakura scoffed. "Too easy, my dear boy. For starters, go swim in that pool." She pointed at the deepest pool, which was directly behind the Sasori.

Sasori stared at her as though she was crazy. He couldn't swim, and he wasn't going to let some stupid girl control him like that. So, he simply said "sorry, I really have to go now," and proceeded to walk towards the exit.

Sakura's eyes burned with anger. How could a guy turn her down like that? Sakura Haruno wasn't going to be humiliated like that! With that, she grabbed Sasori's arm and pulled him back to where he had been previously standing before.

"What on earth do you want? Can't you leave me alone?"

"Leave you alone? Go swim in the pool first, you stupid midget!" With that, she pushed Sasori into the deep pool, expecting him to swim for her to see.

But she did not get what she wanted. And she did not like what she saw after that.

"Hmm? Are you kidding me by pretending you're drowning? You're just like your stupid friend, Deidara. You two are idiots, and idiots shouldn't appear at this party!" Sakura snickered, bending over the pool to watch poor Sasori struggle in the water.

"glub - get me out - glub - of here - glub."

Ino sighed. "He's acting stupid. Who doesn't know how to swim? And you're a man, for goodness sake."

Sasori's eyes were filled with terror as he tried to stay afloat. He was gasping for breath, but water was starting to fill his lungs and he was choking. The water felt like a monster swallowing him into its stomach. After a minute or so, he sank down to the bottom of the pool, taking a last look at the blurred shadows on shore.

And Sakura screamed like a mad woman.

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The guests heard the horrific scream echoing through the whole pool, and were shocked. Itachi realized that something was amiss, and looked at the poolside. Sasori was nowhere in sight. Deidara noticed that too, and started to feel a bit worried.

"Where is Sasori?!"

"I don't know. But lets check out where that scream came from." Itachi pulled Deidara away to where Sakura was standing. She was completely frozen, and Ino's knees were shaking. Both girls looked petrified. They only knew how to swim in shallow pools, not deep pools like this one. And they were too shocked to react.

"What happened?" Itachi asked as he got to the stupid girl. Deidara's eyes wandered from Ino to Sakura to the deep pool, and he saw Sasori's bag beside the pool. Sasori had dropped the bag when Sakura pushed him into the pool. Feeling strange, Deidara looked at the pool and got a shock.

_**"What the HELL!"**_ he screamed as he saw Sasori's blurred figure in the deep pool. It was Sasori

all right; his bright red hair made it easy to recognize him. Without a thought, Deidara jumped into the pool and swam downward before Itachi even had a chance to say anything. He found Sasori, who was unconscious, at the bottom of the pool. Picking the redhead up, he kicked off the pool floor and swam as fast as he could to the surface of the pool. It was really a deep pool - Deidara was already out of breath, yet he persisted on hanging on. He needed to save his best friend.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Deidara reached the pool surface. Itachi was waiting on shore anxiously for him, and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Deidara's head surface.

"Itachi, help me get him out of the water, quick!" Deidara lifted Sasori up and Itachi hurriedly carried him out of the pool. He placed Sasori on the floor.

Deidara quickly climbed out of the pool and went over to see Sasori. Feeling flustered, he started to do CPR on Sasori. Itachi watched quietly as the two girls looked at Deidara timidly. They had never seen him this angry or anxious before.

Deidara was about to blow some air into Sasori's mouth when he stopped abruptly. What if Sasori suddenly woke up and found Deidara's lips on his? Sasori would probably be angry at him!

_'ARGH! Who cares about that now? I have to save his life, or I will die of guilt!' _

And so, to Itachi's dismay, Deidara placed his lips on Sasori's and started blowing air into Sasori's mouth.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 **

After the third time Deidara placed his lips on Sasori, the latter woke up slowly. Sasuke, who had been watching this from the side, sighed. Sleeping Beauty, huh. Itachi's plan had seriously backfired, and Sasuke confirmed that by the current situation and Itachi's solemn facial expression.

Sasori slowly opened his eyes. Everything seemed quite blurry, and he couldn't see anything because of something blocking his view...correction...someone. Long hair tickled his face and neck, and as his vision and consciousness slowly got back to him, he felt someone's lips on his, blowing air into him. Who was it anyway? Blue, anxious eyes...they really looked like Deidara's.

'Is this a dream?' Sasori thought weakly as he analyzed the person. He could feel the person's warm, anxious breathing on his face. And the lips felt like gummy candies.

'No, its not a dream,' he decided, 'Its - '

Suddenly, his eyes widened to the size of fishballs.

'WHAT THE HELL?'

He stared at Deidara in shock as the two of them froze for a few seconds, their lips still connected. Deidara's eyes were wide in shock from the sudden awakening of Sasori. What's more, those "fishball" eyes were scary.

Sasori's whole face turned bright red. He got up quickly and pushed Deidara away from him. "What were you doing?!"

Deidara blushed a little. "You fell into the pool, and I got you out. You weren't conscious, so I performed CPR on you..."

Sasori's heart nearly died. "CPR?!" He clapped one hand over his lips. His first kiss was gone! Taken by a stupid brat. This was so embarassing. Even Itachi had witnessed it - Sasuke, those two stupid girls - some guests...

"I did it to save you, hn." Deidara said quietly, feeling a little hurt by the sudden push.

Sasori looked at his friend. He felt a tinge of regret surge in his heart as he saw that sad look plastered on Deidara's face. For some reason, he looked even cuter this way...

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that," said Sasori finally, recovering a little from the huge shock he had recieved earlier, "I was just...too shocked. No offence..." He started to shift back a little, and in the process, his hand accidentally touched the water in the deep pool, causing him to fall back.

Suddenly, flashbacks of himself struggling in the deep pool came back to him as he saw the Ino and Sakura standing behind Itachi. He felt a sharp pain in his legs as he tried to move them, and his head began to fill with images of the past. It was crazy.

'What the hell is this?! Why can't I move my legs? Why is there water?' He thought, feeling flustered. His head felt heavy, like there was a huge rock weighing it down. Then, he passed out. The shock was too much for him to bear.

"SASORI!"

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"Sorry, Itachi, I have to go now," said Deidara quickly, carrying Sasori in his arms, "but this party has been great, hn."

"...OK. Let me fetch you."

"Huh? No, its okay! You still have to entertain the guests. I'll go and take a cab."

"No, its ok; I'll take care of the guests," said Sasuke reassuringly.

"Hn..." Deidara said quietly. With that, Itachi quickly got dressed, picked up Deidara's and Sasori's belongings and walked briskly towards the carpark. Deidara shot Sakura and Ino a death glare and walked behind Itachi. As the chaffeur put on speed to the car and headed towards a neighbourhood clinic. Deidara held his friend tight throughout the whole drive, worrying his heart out.

It turned out that Sasori had severe cramps in his leg and was very weak due to the fact that he had almost drowned. Also, he was mentally traumatised, so he had to stay in bed for quite awhile. After getting Sasori's medication and upon reaching Sasori's doorstep, Deidara turned to look at Itachi.

"Thanks a lot for today," he said gratefully.

"No problem," replied Itachi, "if you need any help, I'll be always here to help."

Deidara smiled. "Thanks, you sound just like Sasori, you know."

Itachi's heart skipped a beat as Deidara rang the doorbell and Sasori's grandmother answered the door. Did that mean that he, Itachi Uchiha, was on the same level as Sasori?

As he walked back to his car slowly, contemplating about some things, he didn't notice Hidan and Kakuzu standing at the sidewalk. They had seen everything, and observed everything, including the Uchiha's expression.

Hidan sighed. "This is bad news for the redhead who doesn't even know how he feels about Deidara."

Kakuzu looked at the shiny black limousine, which was slowly disappearing from sight. Didn't Deidara use to hate the weasel like mad, and despise him, and call him a weasel? Now, 'weasel' was replaced with 'Itachi.' Sooner or later, a certain redhead would get hurt.

"C'mon, lets go in, we've got to iron out some things," Hidan said, dragging Kakuzu away. It was time for a bittersweet discussion with Pein and Konan. As for Tobi, he could wait until he grew old to be part of the discussion, judging by how his brain thought of ideas which didn't work everytime.

In Sasori's house, Chiyo was busy in the kitchen, making a mug of hot chocolate for the guest, as well as a cup of hot tea for her grandson. Deidara kept apologising to Chiyo, saying that it was his fault that Sasori had ended up like this, but she wouldn't hear anything of it, and insisted that it wasn't anyone's fault.

As Sasori lay on his bed sleeping, Deidara sat by the side observing him sleep. The way he looked like...it was like a delicate porcelain doll, who had just closed her eyes for an afternoon nap. Deidara slowly felt his hand slip into Sasori's cold one, and grasp it tight. A strange feeling overwhelmed him slowly. It was so nice to watch Sasori sleep.

Deidara's other hand then slowly reached for Sasori's red hair. Gently brushing his fringe from his eyes, Deidara let his hand stay on his friends head as he smiled. Who knew that Sasori was this cute when he was sleeping? It didn't seem like him at all.

Before he knew it, night had fallen. The soft moonlight sashayed through the glass windows of the room, reminding Deidara of the time. Slowly but reluctantly, Deidara got up, took one last look at his friend and promised himself that he'd be back tomorrow. It felt funny to leave the house and walk on the empty, dim-lit streets. And besides Sasori, he only knew of one other person who seemed fit enough to know his troubles.

After all, Itachi had helped him so much, and had been very nice to him, he really trusted Itachi a lot, after what had happened in school, during the field trip, and the poolside party. Pulling out his cellphone, he flipped it open and dialled Itachi's number.

"Hello? Itachi, it's me, Deidara. Do you think...I can talk to you for awhile? I'm really sorry..."

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Meanwhile, a group of four people were sitting in a fast food restaurant, talking solemnly. Pein had just gone skateboarding, and Konan had gone an origami convention. The both of them sipped their drinks as they listened to Hidan talk.

"I seriously think we should help Sasori," he finished after five minutes of explaining.

Pein sat back in the chair. "Then we've got to make Sasori realize what Deidara means to him. You know how stubborn the redhead is. He's great a academic stuff, but when it comes to emotional stuff, he's all blank."

"Obviously, Dei-chan does like Sasori, but if that freaking Uchiha intervenes, which is what is happening now, Sasori will be in trouble. In fact, the redhead will be stuck in bed for one whole freaking month, so what's gonna happen? The rich guy will SEIZE the opportunity to get closer to Dei-chan!" Hidan exclaimed, waving his hands in the air.

"And besides, Itachi Uchiha seems attracted to Deidara," added Kakuzu.

"If Dei-chan lands up with Uchiha, Sasori will not be able to take the blow," continued Hidan, "so, what's your opinion on this?"

Konan looked concerned. "can't we let everything take its course?"

"The Uchiha is gonna use his money and power to manipulate the course of nature!" Hidan yelled, as some customers looked at him.

"Sheesh, you've been watching too much of the drama 'Rich guy, poor girl'," Kakuzu said, sighing.

"I can't bear to see Dei-chan get manipulated by the course of nature which is being manipulated by money by the manipulative UCHIHA! Imagine a broken-hearted puppet of a Sasori lying on the wall, his heart torn into two - "

Pein held his hand up. "Stop. If you are gonna worry like this, you might as well spend your time thinking of a good plan to change the course of stuff."

"For the time being, we should try talking to Sasori first. That way, we'd have accomplished something at least. We can't do anything much if Sasori doesn't know what to do, or how he feels about Deidara. So, why don't we go to his house tomorrow? When Deidara has gone off, we can talk to him in private." Konan suggested.

The rest nodded in agreement, and Hidan finally calmed down and took a huge gulp of ice cold water.

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"Yeah, I know...hn. It feels really weird that such a strong-willed guy is lying down on his bed, unable to get up for one month...I really don't feel good."

Deidara was sitting on the playground swings in the park. It felt so weird to be there, without Sasori. Every single time he sat on the swings, Sasori would be there with him, sitting on the other swing next to him. This time, he didn't know why he ended up there without Sasori.

Weird, and lonely.

**"Cheer up, Deidara. He'll be better. Sasori isn't a weak guy; he'll be up and going in one month's time."**

"Yeah, but...you know, I'm sitting on the park playground swings now, and everytime I come here, Sasori will be with me, sitting on that other swing...now, there's nobody. I don't know what's this feeling. And I was so excited on going to the supermarket with him this Saturday...now, everything's ruined."

**"...Fret not. Wait for five minutes, and something will happen. I promise you'll feel better. I'll hang up now, and so, get ready to be surprised." **Click.

Itachi hung up and hurriedly zoomed towards his chaffeur. "Take me to a really good ramen stall, then take me to the neighbourhood playground at Akatsuki Avenue."

The chaffeur looked surprised. Itachi usually didn't go to shabby, middle-class places. What had gotten into him now? But anyway. he just followed his employer's orders and drove off.

5 minutes later, Deidara was still waiting at the swings. He felt a little upset, but felt a little excited and skeptical when he heard Itachi say 'surprise'. He was beginning to feel impatient. It was already seven minutes, and the surprise had not come. He was starting to feel cheated. He was about to call Itachi when he heard a voice call out his name.

"Deidara, so this is the swing you were talking about?"

Deidara stared. It was Itachi, and he was carrying two containers of...ICHIRAKU RAMEN?

"Hn, Ichiraku ramen?! I didn't think you'd know there was such a shop that sold ramen..." Deidara said.

Itachi smirked as he silently thanked his chaffeur for knowing where Ichiraku ramen was. He handed a container of ramen and a pair of chopsticks to Deidara, who happily accepted them and broke his chopsticks quickly.

"Ramen, here I come!"

The boy slurped up his noodles hungrily, at such a speed that Itachi's face paled.

"You didn't eat dinner, I suppose?" he asked.

Deidara shook his head as he shoved more noodles into his mouth. Itachi sighed and patted his head.

"Don't rush. No one's gonna steal your food. If you eat too quickly you'll get indigestion," he said as he went over to sit at the empty swing. Breaking his chopsticks as well, he opened the container and slurped the noodles. Wow, it totally rocked. The warm broth was simply amazing, and the portions given were really large.

Deidara smiled as he noticed Itachi's expression. "Good ramen, isn't it? I love it lots. Thanks for the ramen; was it your 'surprise'?" Itachi nodded, eating the noodles with relish.

"You know, thanks for coming down here. Sasori used to sit where you are sitting right now. Whenever we came here. But now, I guess he's out of action for one whole month, and if I come here, it won't be fun at all, hn."

Itachi looked at Deidara, who was eating at a much slower speed now. 'So this was Sasori's swing,' he thought quietly. Suddenly, an idea came to his head as he put down his chopsticks.

"I could come here with you and sit on Sasori's swing for the one month he has to rest. Then you wouldn't be lonely. I would really like to be your good friend and share your troubles with you. And I could go with you to the supermarket this Saturday. I'd also like to learn more about middle-class supermarkets..." he said.

Deidara stopped eating for awhile. He looked at Itachi as though he were mad. "Are you mad? I thought you never ate anything more than imported organic foods!"

"I could try," said Itachi.

"Well...ok then. That's really nice of you, Itachi. At first, I thought you were a really stupid guy, but now it seems like you have proven that wrong, hn."

Itachi blushed a little. "Really? And I used to think you were an irritating, bad-tempered idiot. Though you still are irritating and bad-tempered, I found out that you do know some things more than me...like the prices of coffee and tea from middle-class shops and stuff like that. You know, middle-class stuff."

Deidara seemed a little offended, but forced a smile. "Yeah, I take that as a compliment, hn. Anyway, I could teach you more on middle-class supermarkets this Saturday. Lets meet at the neighbourhood supermarket at 9am, ok? I would like to buy some groceries for Sasori too."

"Alright," said Itachi, "I would love to."

"And...Itachi. Thanks for everything. Chatting with you makes me feel better."

Itachi felt as if time had stopped. He stared at Deidara, who was smiling at him.

It was that sunshine smile again. The one which made his heart beat fast. The one which had made him understand how he felt towards Deidara. Feeling a little awkward, Itachi looked down at his ramen.

'Sasori, this swing seat is mine for one month, but I'll change the one month to forever,' he thought as the moonlight shone on him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 **

It was a cloudy Saturday morning. The sky was overcast with grey clouds which drifted slowly over the city, and while most people were still in snoring in bed enjoying their Saturday morning to the fullest, Itachi was dressed one of Sasuke's loose-fitting "middle-class clothes", carefully making sure that his wallet was full of "extra-small change". Today was going to be a wonderful day; a day with lots of shopping and chatting with the person he liked. He knew that it wasn't exactly a date, but he would like to think that this shopping trip was his first date with someone he really liked a lot.

He made his way to the Uchiha mansion front porch, all dressed and ready for his new venture to the middle-class supermarkets. As he got into the car dressed like an ordinary middle-class citizen, his chaffeur couldn't help but stare at him. Where was this rich young master of the famous Uchiha family going, dressed in such shabby clothes?

Itachi ignored the strange look his chaffeur was giving him. "Pull over at 'Best Supermarket' at Akatsuki Avenue, please."

The chaffeur's jaw dropped. Itachi-sama going to a commoner supermarket?

"Er - Itachi-sama, do you mean Konoha Grand Supermarket at Money Street?" he asked, puzzled.

"You heard me. The commoner supermarket. Now, please get a move on it or I will be late." The Uchiha leaned back in his comfy seat and took out a magazine from the seat pocket to read.

The chaffeur was shocked, but did as he was told. 10 minutes later, Itachi found himself standing in front of a commoner supermarket. He secretly gaped at its small size and was planning to ring up Deidara when he saw the latter walking down the street towards him.

"You're late," Itachi stated.

"Nah, I'm not, hn. I'm one minute early, can't you see?" Deidara smiled and showed Itachi his watch. Yep, definitely one minute early. Itachi sighed and dug his hands into his pockets.

"Alright, then lets set off already, shall we?"

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Sasori was sitting on his bed, watching TV restlessly. He was in a relatively bad mood, as his cellphone event tone kept ringing at his sidetable, reminding him of the supermarket trip he was supposed to make with Deidara. But Chiyo had strictly confined him to his room, though he had insisted that he was fine. Truthfully, his legs still hurt and his mind wasn't very clear, but he didn't want to disappoint Deidara.

Staring at the bright TV screen, the redhead reached for his irritating cellphone and tried to shut off the horrible ringtone quickly. It certainly wasn't music to his ears now. As he closed his cellphone quietly, he heard a knock on the door. It was his grandmother.

"Sasori, you have visitors!" she chirruped happily as she opened the door and popped her head inside.

_'Visitors?'_ thought Sasori, as Pein, Konan, Hidan and Kakuzu entered the room. Sasori was a little surprised, but kept a straight face as they came over to his bed. Konan reached her hand into her sling bag and pulled out a bottle of small coloured paper stars.

"For you, Sasori. Hope you get well soon," she said, placing the bottle on the sidetable.

"Thanks," replied Sasori, taking a look at those intricate stars. He had always loved Konan's artwork, and was quite pleased to recieve a bottle of get-well stars from her.

"Anyway, we came here today to visit you and to dicuss something with you," said Pein, "we think that it's really important."

Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and if you don't make your decision now, you are gonna regret it in the future," said Hidan.

_'What's with them? Coming on a Saturday morning to discuss something with me...' _Sasori eyed his friends suspiciously as Pein came straight to the point.

"It's about Deidara, my dear friend, if you were wondering. We would like to ask you something, and help you come to your senses. I'm sorry for being blunt, but do you like Deidara?"

Sasori felt as if a jolt of lightning had struck him. It was a sensitive question.

"As a friend," replied the redhead.

Hidan scoffed. "Friend? C'mon, it's more than that. Why can't you just put away your pride and admit it? You like Dei-chan more than a friend. More than a best friend. You are attracted to him, admit it already!"

"My pride? What attraction?!" Sasori shot at Hidan.

"Tsk tsk. If you only liked him as a friend, would you get so uptight over what I just said?"

A small shade of pink coloured Sasori's cheeks as he found himself caught by Hidan's words. He honestly didn't know how he felt, but it was nice to be beside Deidara, and talk to him, help him, laugh with him...

"I...don't know."

Kakuzu sighed. "I knew it would come to this. Come on, be decisive already, or your precious Deidara is going to be taken away by that Uchiha."

"You mean Itachi? You've gotta be kidding." With this being said, Hidan couldn't control his frustration anymore.

"What the hell is wrong with you, redhead? Because you keep putting off the subject, Dei-chan is going to be taken away by the weasel! You don't even know how you feel for him, or rather, you refuse to acknowledge that you like him. And because the weasel's sorted out his feelings, he's now chasing after Dei-chan. Yet you're stuck in bed, letting him get away with it, and you're giving him a perfect opportunity to bond with Dei-chan. Can't you wake and think with your clever brain? HUH?" he exclaimed, spit flying on Sasori's bedsheets. Konan was a little disgusted, but this was how Hidan was.

Sasori was too shocked to speak. He sat on his bed, staring wide-eyed at Hidan as the rude teen continued with his lecture.

"Yeah, yeah, have I got it right? Bet I did. Do you know what I saw this morning when I passed by the nearby supermarket? I saw Dei-chan with that idiot Uchiha buying fruits! Uchiha Itachi was even dressed in commoner clothes. What does this mean? He likes Dei-chan, and he even specially wore commoner clothes and went to a commoner supermarket with Dei-chan. Would a rich guy do that? If you do not like Dei-chan, say so and we'll just stop helping you already!"

By now, Sasori was in a daze. He slumped back on his upright pillow and stared at the television screen. So, it was right. Itachi was trying to get closer to Deidara. The poolside party had already led him to suspect this, but he refused to believe that the Uchiha would fall for a brat like Deidara.

But it was true. And to top it off, he had to stay in bed for one month. He couldn't help but let his thoughts run wild. What if Itachi successfully won Deidara's heart? He'd be a goner.

Pein smiled a little. "I guess he's starting to realize some things."

"You do like Deidara, don't you? Sasori." Konan looked into the redhead's eyes.

Sasori suddenly felt like his feelings were all pieced together. The stone weighing it down was gone. OK, he did like Deidara after all. If not, why would he feel so jealous when Itachi was talking to him, acting like he was Deidara's close friend? Why would he feel a fluttering feeling in his heart when Deidara praised him or said something nice to him? It was much clearer now. He was forced to face reality by Hidan, but it led to something good after all.

"I guess I do," he murmured, feeling embarassed.

"Awww, redhead, there isn't anything to feel embarassed about," said Hidan, slapping his hand on Sasori's back, "we just wanna know what you're going to do next."

"Yeah, it looks like Itachi did some planning," said Pein thoughtfully, "but two can play at this game."

"Correction - five can play at this game," corrected Konan.

"Right - but what I do? I can't get Deidara back from a rich guy...he's rich, handsome, intelligent, knows how to please people..." Sasori buried his face into his hands.

"It doesn't mean that you've to be rich to love someone," said Kakuzu, "while the weasel has the money, we have five heads to think more effectively. Have more confidence in yourself - we're behind you all the way, not Itachi."

"I bet the rich weasel only has his money and little brother supporting him," said Hidan sarcastically.

"...thanks. I owe you guys a ton."

"No problem. But I have an idea, if you would like to hear it," said Pein, pulling out a newspaper from Konan's bag. He handed it to Sasori.

"Look at page six, and tell me what you feel about it."

Sasori gave Pein a strange look, but opened up the newspaper and turned to page six. There on the paper, was a large picture of Sarutobi and another woman splashed all over.

_**'SARUTOBI DIES OF HEART ATTACK - TSUNADE TO BE KONOHA HIGH'S NEXT PRINCIPAL'.**_

The redhead couldn't believe his eyes. The stupid old man who had depised his art was dead because of a heart attack?

_'Principal Sarutobi, formerly the principal of the prestigious Konoha High school, died of a heart attack after walking through a students art gallery. Apparently, he was viewing a piece of work labelled 'Sexy no Jutsu' by a student in his school when he suddenly clutched his chest and fainted on the floor. "The piece of artwork sent his nose bleeding, and then, he just clutched his chest and fainted. Two hours later, he died. I believe it was because the picture of the girl was too sexy for Master Sarutobi," says one of the gallery attendants.' _

Sasori looked up at Pein. "OK, so the old man died. What has it got to do with me?"

"Read on. It's all at the bottom."

_'Tsunade, the daughter of the renowned First Principal of Konoha High, has been appointed the next Principal. She has decided to change the rule of the school whih Sarutobi set - woodwork courses will be now accepted into the school's curriculum. "I strongly believe that woodworking is a fine art, and therefore it should be taught in this fine school. I do not understand why Master Sarutobi objected to it strongly when he was still alive, but since my father was well-versed in it and was famous for woodworking, I do not see any reason why this form of art is low-class. Therefore, anyone who thinks that they can meet our school standards can apply for the woodworking course scholarship. Chosen applicants will be immediately accepted to our school. There is simply no time to waste."'_

Sasori stared at the paper. Was he dreaming? This woman was a fabulous woman who truly understood the beauty of woodworking!

Pein smirked. "If you go to that school, not only will you be able to improve your woodworking skills, you'll be able to see Deidara everyday. So, what's the deal?"

The redhead hesitated for awhile. What Pein said made sense - and besides, what did he have to lose by going to that rich school? If it was to win Deidara's heart, he didn't mind at all.

"OK, I'm going to submit my application form."


	13. Chapter 13

**Raintrees: I won't be updating for the next few days because I have camp...I'll be back on Saturday. My apologies...**

**Chapter 13**

It was Sunday. Sasori had printed out the scholarship application form and had personally requested for Pein to mail it to the post office for him. He didn't want his grandmother to peek inside the envelope and possibly tell Deidara about what he was doing. He was fixing his puppets when he heard a soft knock on the door.

"I brought something for you to eat!" Deidara exclaimed happily as he opened the door. Sasori noticed that he had bought some containers of takeaway food. Oh yeah, it was almost time for lunch. He had been so engrossed in fixing his puppets that he had forgotten about eating.

"I intended to visit you earlier, but the school called yesterday evening to say that we had to go back for a mourning session for Sarutobi, hn. So, I decided to buy some food back for you." Smiling, Deidara opened a container full of piping hot ramen and inhaled its delicious scent deeply. It was Sasori's favourite ramen.

"Thanks," said Sasori, and made a reach for the chopsticks which came with the ramen, but Deidara snatched them up quickly, startling Sasori a little.

"What are you doing?"

"No, you're not going to eat the ramen with your hands. I'm going to feed you the ramen," said Deidara happily, breaking the chopsticks.

Sasori stared. "You are going to feed me? No way, brat. Now, hand over those chopsticks - "

Deidara smirked. "NO! Unless you let me feed you, you aren't gonna get this special treat. And your granny has just gone out to the hairdresser's, so if you want a late lunch of boiled veggies and plain porridge. you can wait for her."

The redhead was taken aback. What the hell, boiled veggies and plain porridge? He had been eating that almost everyday ever since he was confined to his bed. Besides, the ramen looked so good.

But no, he wasn't going to let Deidara have his way. Must resist temptation. Must resist ramen.

Deidara giggled a little when he saw the redhead trying to prevent himself from wanting to eat the ramen. Sasori's face looked very comical - he was biting his lip and his cheeks were a little red. He looked very much like a little child. Picking up the ramen container, Deidara put it under Sasori's chin and let the fragant aroma drift into his nose.

"Lovely ramen, you sure you don't want it? Your favourite ramen which is so much better than boiled veggies and plain porridge...Come on, you know you want the ramen, hn."

After five minutes of tempting, Sasori finally gave in. His face was all red and he was sweating from trying to concentrate his thoughts on maths sums. But it was no use - the power of the ramen aroma overwhelmed him, and broke his concentration.

"OK, OK! You win," he said, sighing.

Deidara grinned. "OK! What must you say?"

Sasori was beginning to feel irritated. "What now?"

"Magic word...be polite, Sasori. Say 'please'."

"What?!"

"Or I will eat your ramen..."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would! Ahhh - "

" STOP! OK, I will say it...please."

"Please who?"

"Please, Deidara. May I have the ramen please?" Sasori said through gritted teeth.

Finally, Deidara seemed to be satisfied. He stirred the ramen a little, and fed some to Sasori, who was scolding himself mentally for letting Deidara feed him. But he secretly felt happy.

"See, you're a patient, so you should let people feed you, hn," Deidara said.

"I have hands; I can eat on my own, dumbass," said Sasori between mouthfuls of ramen.

"So now, I am a nurse!"

"In your next life, you mean."

"OI!"

"Oi what?"

"I gonna feed you everyday from now on! I will be your nurse!"

"HUH? Spare me the agony."

"Not agony. Happiness! I will make your lunch every Saturday and Sunday."

"...Whatever."

"Oh yeah...I am going to Itachi's house later for a project. After I feed you, I've gotta go."

"Itachi's house?" Sasori paused for a moment.

"Yeah. We are going to do a project on different dances. With Kiba and Hinata-san," replied Deidara.

_'Itachi...'_ Somehow, this person didn't seem very friendly anymore. He seemed more like a threat. A rival, more specifically.

Sasori wasn't sure whether he should tell Deidara about his plans to transfer to Konoha High. He wanted to see Deidara's reaction to this piece of news, but he was afraid that Deidara would tell this to Itachi, and give Itachi more "secret information". If Itachi knew about this, he would start planning out counter attacks. Pein had specifically told Sasori "not to reveal this to anyone, including your diary, including Deidara." And he knew Pein was a good analyzer.

"Do...you like Itachi?" Sasori asked quietly.

"Itachi? Yeah, he's quite nice. He's been really good to me and that really changed my impression of him. He even invited me take a look at the wealthy supermarkets. He said that they're ten times bigger than our supermarkets! That's crazy, isn't it?" Deidara said excitedly.

"Since when were you interested in stuff for the rich?"

"Am I

Sasori didn't look too happy. Hidan was right. His one-month house confinement was going to help Itachi create lots of opportunites to take Deidara out. Sooner or later, Deidara would surely like the Uchiha more than him.

All the more he was going to pass the application test.

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"Itachi-sama has been expecting you, sir."

Deidara was now at the Uchiha Mansion front gate, feeling very lost. This large place would drive anyone crazy if they were to walk into the mansion, take a tour of everything and come back to the front gate without getting lost. He was sure that no one, except the maids and servants and the Uchihas themselves could survive living in that maze. As a maid dressed in a neat, frilly dress led him to an enormous ballroom, Deidara noticed a few family portaits hanging on the walls of the corridors. Itachi looked quite adorable when young, he decided. But now, he looked more like a stone. A stone who was slowly turning into a piece of soft clay, though.

He stepped into the enormous ballroom and blinked as the bright lights greeted his eyes. The mirrored walls reflected his stunned face as he saw Itachi dancing some contemporary dance in the middle of the dance floor. He didn't seem to notice his visitor, and kept dancing to the beat of the music. Deidara found himself captivated by the swift movements and dance steps, as well as amused by how emotionless the Uchiha looked when he was dancing. Kiba was at one side of the room with Hinata, teaching her how to waltz.

Finally, after a few minutes, the music stopped and Itachi ended the dance with a finishing pose. He was sweating and panting after the vigorous activity, and was about to get his water bottle from the side of the room when he saw Deidara standing by the doorway.

"Hey, why don't you come in?" he asked, wiping his sweat from his forehead.

Deidara looked a little shocked as he came back to reality, and quickly walked into the room. Kiba and Hinata turned around as soon as they saw him nearing them.

"Well, well, here comes Deidara!" said Kiba, as Hinata did a full spin.

"Good afternoon, Deidara-kun," Hinata said, smiling.

_'Hmm, they look like lovers doing a waltz,'_ thought Deidara as he put his belongings down beside the CD player. The project that he and his classmates were supposed to do wasn't so simple - they were supposed to perform an item for the new principal's welcome ceremony. They had been chosen as the class representative group, mostly because of Itachi. But Deidara had never danced before, and did not know how to dance, as well as how it felt to dance. He had even dreamt that he had fallen off the stage while dancing the night before.

"OK, then lets start with the dancing, Deidara," said Itachi, throwing his towel onto the floor, "Hinata and Kiba have already thought of what to dance. Is contemporary okay with you - em, Deidara?"

Deidara was busy worrying and thinking about his dream when Itachi snapped him out of his thoughts. He quickly stood up as his face flushed with embarassment.

"Uh, yeah. I don't mind, hn. But what is contemporary? And I don't know how to dance. I've never danced before. I'm afraid that I'll fall off the stage. I don't want to embarass myself and you."

Itachi looked at Deidara for a moment. Then he simply grabbed his hand and led him to the middle of the room.

"I will teach you how to dance. I believe that you will be able to dance well. Just follow me -"

At that moment, Kiba called out to Itachi, "hey, why don't you two perform a waltz as well? It'll be easier for Deidara, since he simply just has to memorize the count, the rhythm and the steps."

Itachi nodded, and turned back to Deidara. "You heard him. I'll teach you how to waltz then."

Deidara's eyes widened. "B-b-but I might step on your feet!"

"No buts. Come and dance already." With that, Itachi took Deidara's hand, put one hand around his waist and pulled Deidara towards him. Deidara blushed as his head crashed into Itachi's chest.

"If you can't finish learning the steps by today, you won't be going home this evening."

"What?! You idiot!"

But Itachi had already started dancing. He moved his feet slowly so that Deidara would be able to follow.

"Ready...one, two, three, four...one, two, three, four...no, not like that. Don't stomp your feet; move lightly..." Itachi gently led Deidara through the dance, and Deidara kept stumbling over Itachi's feet, but nevertheless, he continued dancing. He didn't want to go home late.

_'This feeling is good,'_ thought Itachi as he waltzed along with the music. He noticed Deidara blushing, and smiled. _'He looks even cuter when he's blushing,' _he thought.

Meanwhile, Deidara's whole head was in a whirl. It was hard to keep up with Itachi, though the pace they were dancing at was already very slow. But after awhile, he gradually got used to the pace and started enjoying the dance. Itachi's face was so close, and Deidara couldn't help but blush. His heart went a little faster with each step he took.

Sasuke was standing by the doorway. He smirked as he saw what was going on. By now, all the mirrors in the room had the images of Deidara and Itachi waltzing in them. It was like the ballroom had walls that were TV screens, playing a video of the two classmates dancing. He grinned and walked away after awhile. Really, he should have brought his video camera...

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It was finally evening. Deidara had finally mastered all the steps, thanks to all the effort he had put in. He seriously didn't want to go home late; he wanted to watch the drama series 'Rich Guy, Poor Girl.' But he found himself too tired to stand up. Itachi had practically made him dance and dance without any breaks in between. He sat down next to the CD player, feeling very exhausted and thirsty. Hinata and Kiba had already gone home, and the sun was already setting. Deidara sighed, and was sure that he would be late for his favourite drama series.

Suddenly, Itachi thrust a bottle of water into his hands. "Drink up," he said, "you must be really thirsty after all this training."

"Thanks, and I'm glad you know that, hn," said Deidara, opening the bottle quickly and taking a huge gulp of water. The water felt nice and cool, and made him feel very refreshed.

Itachi sat down next to his classmate and drank some water from his own water bottle. There was silence for awhile, until he decided to ask Deidara some things which he was really curious about.

"Hey, Deidara?"

"Yeah?"

"...just wondering about...how close you are to Sasori. You two seem like very good friends. Does he treat you nicely?"

Deidara nodded. "Though he always scolds me and acts like he doesn't care about me, I know he really does care about me. He's a really nice person. Without him, I don't think I would be able to make it through middle school."

'Oh..." Itachi took another sip of water. "Then, what kind of person is he actually?"

"He's kind yet stubborn, and he doesn't show his true emotions easily. And he dislikes it when people keep him waiting. He's really quiet and clever, and he seems strong on the outside, but I don't think he's strong on the inside. He's strong-willed, but he can be broken into many pieces if something really bad happens. Like, when his parents died. They died in a car crash."

Itachi looked surprised. "Really?"

Deidara nodded. "His grandmother told me that he was so devastated that he locked himself up in the room for a week and did nothing but look out of the window. When he finally came out, he wouldn't talk to anyone. It was really hard to get him to talk again, she said."

"Then...do you like him?" Itachi asked.

"Of course I do. Are you nuts? We've been friends for a long time!"

"I didn't mean it that way, stupid! I mean -"

But Deidara cut his sentence off halfway. "It's already so late! Do you think I could go home now? I really want to watch 'Rich Guy, Poor Girl'!"

Itachi was frozen on the spot for awhile. Then he nodded, and led him to the front gate. "Want a ride home?" he asked.

"Eh, no its ok. I don't want to bother you...it wouldn't be nice. But thanks anyway. Bye!" With that, Deidara ran home quickly, leaving Itachi to his own thoughts.

"I hope he practises the dance steps well," he thought aloud, and went back into his house.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 **

Weeks passed by quickly, and before Sasori knew it, a month was almost up. He had taken the Konoha Scholarship application test secretly with Pein and Konan's help, and had been accepted. The only people who did not know about this was Deidara and Itachi, and Sasori planned to keep it a secret. He did not want to give Itachi more time to think of counter attack plans.

With Chiyo's consent, Sasori was able to go back to work at UIH. He worked overtime for several weeks for the sake of getting his school uniform and books. But he never saw Deidara and Itachi, strangely. So he decided to text Deidara.

**To: Deidara **

**Message: Hey, why haven't you been coming for work? Have you caught a cold or something?**

It was certainly strange not to see Deidara around. He usually would never miss a day of work, and Itachi was supposed to be at the store everyday to supervise the workers. There was something fishy going on.

Well, indeed there was.

**From Deidara**

**Message: I've got dancing practice with Itachi and co, so we've taken a few weeks leave. Itachi says that the welcome ceremony for Tsunade is important, so we cant make any mistakes. Sorry that I can't have lunch with you ."**

That opening ceremony. The one which he was going to attend, and the one which would make his mind explode. Itachi was dancing a waltz with Deidara - that's what he had heard from the latter. And he, Sasori, would have to see it. What was this? It felt like he and Deidara were drifting further and further apart.

He felt quite frustrated inside, and slammed the pile of notebooks he was holding on the floor. Stupid notebooks, stupid UIH, stupid Uchiha Itachi. Sasori sighed and started to sort out the notebooks one by one. There was nothing he could do at the moment anyway. He wasn't going to use tricks and plans excessively like Itachi - he was going to win Deidara's heart with his own true self. Not schemes or plans. Those things weren't suited for a person like him. But wasn't entering Konoha High a plan? Sigh.

As the redhead sat on the floor and sorted out the notebooks continuously like a clockwork machine, a pink-haired lady walked up to him. It was Sakura Haruno, the culprit who had pushed him into the pool. She was wearing leather pumps and a cherry red dress, and a brass necklace dangled from her neck. There were plastic and sterling silver rings on her long slender fingers, and she was looking at Sasori. Sasori, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.

Sakura had come to purchase some stationary and cooking books from the store. She had come with Ino Yamanaka, her best friend who gossiped, fought, studied, and laughed with her since kindergarten. While looking for a specific cooking book _(Cook your way into your man's heart_ by Mina Takashi), she had spotted a familiar redhead sitting all alone on the floor, restlessly and tiredly sorting out notebooks. She decided to walk over and confirm the identity of the person. Walking over quietly to Sasori, she tilted her head a little to take a clearer look at the person's face. Sleepy-looking eyes, soft expression, pursed lips...yes, it was the redhead whom she had pushed into the deep pool. She had felt guilty over that incident, and had always wanted to apologise to Sasori. But she never found him, until now. As she opened her mouth to say something, she noticed how cute he looked while sorting notebooks, and stopped. He seemed to be deep in thought, and was a little frustrated. Sakura couldn't help but wonder why.

As she absent-mindedly reached for a random book on the top shelf while looking at Sasori, one of her fingers accidentally pushed a thick book off the shelf, and it crashed onto the floor with a loud thud. The sound snapped Sasori out of his thoughts, and he quickly looked up to see a book lying on the floor beside a customer. Assuming that she had dropped it, Sasori went forward and picked up the book. (Salesman instincts)

"I believe you dropped this book, ma'am," he said, handing the book to the customer. As he met her eyes and pink-hair, his eyes widened. Wasn't this the girl who had pushed him into the pool?

Sakura knew that she had to act quickly. "Uhm, about that day...I'm really sorry," she said apologetically.

Sasori didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether he should hate this girl for causing him to stay in bed for one whole month and give Itachi opportunities. But frankly, since she had already apologised, that was good enough. Sasori knew that it was rare for spoilt rich brats like Sakura to apologise to people.

"It's ok," he replied, giving a quick bow and going back to sorting out notebooks. He didn't want to spend so much time talking with a stupid girl. OK, she wasn't stupid, but she was just plain spoilt and rude, and Sasori decided that he couldn't put up with her.

Sakura, on the other hand, thought otherwise. She couldn't stop looking at Sasori, and grasped the book he had just given her so tight that one would have thought that the book was made of diamond. She felt a warm feeling spread all over her.

Just then, Ino walked over to Sakura, holding a shopping basket with a few ballpoint pens, fountain pens and highlighters. She took a look at the book that Sakura was holding and instantly snatched it out of her friend's tight grip.

"Are you mad, Sakura? Why are you buying this book?!" Ino exclaimed.

Sakura came back down to reality as Ino shouted loudly into her ear. "It's a great book, don't take it away!"

"Do you even know what this is about? You buying this for your little cousin or something?" Ino folded her arms.

Sakura was a little puzzled. She looked at the book cover. To her dismay, it said _'The Little Duckling's beginner book of ABCs'._

"ABCs for beginners?!" she exclaimed.

Ino scoffed. "And you were holding it like it was your greatest treasure on earth."

Sakura's mouth dropped open. This was so embarassing! She quickly looked to her right to see if Sasori had witnessed everything, but he was gone.

"Eh?! Where is he?..." she quickly looked around, hoping to spot the redhead. But too bad for her, Sasori was already far away from her. He was in the storeroom, retrieving some fountain pens. How did he disappear so fast?

Ino gave her friend a strange look.

"Hey, are you ok? Or did you eat too much strawberry and chocolate rainbow pudding this morning for breakfast?"

"No, its nothing..." Sakura replied, finally giving up. She followed Ino to the cashier counter to pay for her stationary and books. As she reached for her wallet in her bag to pay for the items, she realized something.

"Shucks, Ino! I've left my handbag at the books section!"

"Man, Sakura...you're such a klutz. Well, I'll lend you my credit card first, if you want."

"I don't want to owe you anything, Ino!"

At this moment, the cashier interrupted them politely. "Ladies, why don't you calm down? Not to worry - I'll get someone to help you find the handbag." With that, the cashier picked up a walkie-talkie and turned it on.

_"Hey, Akasuna, can you hear me?"_

**"Yes. What is it?"** A familiar voice made both Sakura and Ino jump.

_"A lady just lost her handbag at the books section. Could you go find it for her?" _

**"OK. Hey, Meiko, call Izura for the fountain pens stock. They're running out."**

_"Got it. And come to the cashier counter once you've found the handbag."_

**"Yeah." **Click.

Ino was the first to respond. "Excuse me, but is this Akasuna person working here? What is his name? Does he have red hair? Is he short?"

The cashier stared at Ino, feeling shocked. Then she regained composure and replied, "He does have red hair...his name is Sasori Akasuna. He has short red hair and is short. And he works here too. Em. do you know him?"

Both Sakura and Ino were frozen to the spot. Really, how fate made fun of them. Could it really be _that _person? Sakura's heart nearly stopped when she heard footsteps behind her. Man, the guy was quick at finding things.

"Meiko, is this what you want?" said Sasori's tired voice as he approached the counter, holding up a frilly leather handbag.

"Yes, thanks a lot. You sure are fast," retorted Meiko. She turned to face the dumbfounded customers. "Ma'am, is this the handbag you are looking for?"

"Uh, yes, thank you very much," said Sakura, as Sasori handed her the bag. He didn't say anything more, and walked away as soon as he had given it to her.

_'It's them again,'_ he thought as he walked, _'if I don't want trouble I guess I should stay away from them.'_

Sakura stared at the teenager's back as he left. Well well, she shouldn't be having feelings for anyone other than her Sasuke-kun...and she was now apparently infatuated with someone who was ten times poorer than herself?

Ino studied her friend's dreamy face. Really, the pink-haired girl had fallen for someone who wasn't an ideal match for a rich girl. And someone who would probably not like her.

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Itachi sat down on the floor, feeling exhausted. Finally, everything was ready. The props, the dance steps, the music...well, what was left was to show Deidara his costume.

The latter sat beside Itachi, panting hard. He and Itachi had danced for six consecutive hours, with only two water breaks in between. The practice really drained him of water and strength, and he flopped onto the floor like a pancake,

Itachi smiled, and looked at his friend. Beads of sweat were rolling down Deidara's forehead, and his hair was plastered to his sweaty face. Still cute-looking, thought Itachi.

"Oh yeah, Itachi, what costumes will we be wearing, hn?" asked Deidara as he wiped his sweat from his forehead.

The Uchiha grinned. "I will be wearing a tuxedo, and you will be wearing a nice long dress with a ribbon to match."

"Huh?! Why must I wear a dress, hn? I thought it was really nice of you to replace my female staff uniform with a male staff uniform...and now you're making me wear a dress _again?" _Deidara protested.

Itachi shrugged. "Stage crew orders. Besides, you look great in dresses."

"What stage crew, hn? There's no stage crew!"

"There is."

"I don't want to wear the dress!"

"You have to."

"I won't wear it, hn."

Itachi's eyes glowed. "Oh, really," he said, smirking, "well, if you don't wear it, lets see how you are going to explain it to my mother. She designed the dress specially for you. How will she feel if you reject her good intentions, I wonder..."

Deidara gulped. Since it was Mrs Uchiha, he definitely couldn't say no to it. After all, he couldn't afford to offend a rich lady.

Itachi smiled, and handed Deidara a paper bag.

"Here's your _beautiful_ dress. On the day of the performance, a make-up stylist will come to help us with the make-up, so don't worry. Just focus on getting the steps right, and smile while you dance. The performance is just next week you know. You always look so frightened when you dance..."

"Because I am afraid that I might make a mistake, hn! For this whole month I've been skipping computer gaming and practicing this stupid dance. What's more, I always had to leave Sasori's house early to come and practice this dance with you. I bet he's angry with me!" Deidara snapped.

"But you like dancing with me, right?"

"It's so-so, hn."

"Whatever. It's a good thing you know your priorities. Now, take care of the dress. It's made of pure silk, and the ribbons are made of gold thread. If its spoilt on the day of the performance, you shall perform in a ballet costume."

Deidara cringed as he imagined himself waltzing in a tutu. He glared at Itachi as he thirstily drank some water. Taking the paper bag, he stood up, picked up his bag and walked off.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Itachi.

"I want to watch 'Rich Guy, Poor Girl'," came the reply, "do I have to ask your permission for it, Itachi-the-guy-with-a-dress-fetish?" With that, Deidara slammed the door behind him.

Itachi grinned. Deidara was cute with that bad temper of his. Previously, it seemed like a bad thing to Itachi, but now, it was really cute to see Deidara flare up. Really now, he had to catch the drama serial of 'Rich Guy, Poor Girl' before Sasuke started hogging the large-screen plasma television in the television lounge. That show was somehow similar to his current situation - where he was the rich guy and Deidara was the poor girl. Of course, Deidara was not a girl. But the point was, the show gave him lots of tips on how to win Deidara's heart. He could not afford to miss it.

Switching off the ballroom lights and air conditioning, he closed the door silently and made his way to the television lounge.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note**

_**To **__**OMGPLEASEUPDATESOON:**__ No, its not a taiwanese drama...I just thought of some random title for the drama series :D The "Rich Guy, Poor Girl" drama series is about a rich guy who doesn't like this poor girl because she's tomboyish and poor, but then after she saved his life he started to like her. _

**Chapter 15 **

The bright morning sun shone on the golden pillars of Konoha High School, making it look like a splendid palace. The school was unusually noisy today; lots of things were being done inside and outside the school campus.

There were busy students arranging chairs, hanging up decorations and rehearsing plays and dances when Sasori arrived early in the morning. The new students were led to a special hall where they were seperated into three different classes. Sasori wondered where Deidara was - he probably was in some room practicing his waltz with Itachi. Sighing, he sat down on one of the chairs in the room and waited for further instructions. As he rested his head on his hand, a spiky-haired teenager wearing a black jacket with a hoodie walked up to the desk beside him and sat down on the empty seat. He was playing with a small puppet on strings.

Sasori's attention was drawn by the little puppet. Wow, the guy could really control the puppet well. It was as if the puppet had come to life and was dancing. The hoodie guy looked at the redhead quietly, but continued playing with his puppet. He was aware that his desk partner was watching him. Finally, stopped fiddling with the puppet strings and spoke.

"Are you interested in puppets too?"

Sasori was a little startled and embarassed. He nodded quietly, his face a little red.

The hoodie guy smiled. "The name's Kankurou," he said, stretching out a hand to shake Sasori's, "I assume you have an interest in puppets too?"

"Yeah," replied the redhead, "that's obvious, isn't it? You came here by the scholarship too, didn't you? Everyone in this room did."

"You're pretty straightforward, aren't you?" Kankurou remarked, putting his puppet on the desk, "well, I expect you must be an excellent wood artist too. Got any nice puppets in your bag, Mister Magician?"

"I am not a magician, Kankurou," replied the redhead, "and I didn't bring any puppets with me today. I heard that there was going to be an extremely long entrance ceremony, because Tsunade is going to make a speech."

"Yeah, and all the skits and dances and performances are all prepared for her," said Kankurou, "but I think they will be interesting."'

At that moment, the teacher-in-charge had requested silence from all the students. Sasori looked at the teacher. He had long black hair and a cunning smile, like a fox. He looked rather like a snake.

"Class, I am Orochimaru-sensei. I will be the form teacher of your class. Now, before the entrance ceremony, I would like all of you introduce yourselves.to me. I hope to get to know you all better. Now, start with Nagoya?..."

Sasori didn't like the look of this teacher. He looked as if all of his students were delicious foods, and looked ready to eat them up. He was like a snake, ready to catch and eat his next prey. Sasori groaned when it was his turn to introduce himself to the class.

"Would you like to introduce yourself, Sasori-kun?" asked the teacher in a sweet voice which Sasori did not like. The redhead sighed, stood up and spoke.

"I'm Sasori."

Orochimaru's grin widened. "Sasori-kun, please introduce yourself _properly." _

Sasori felt like slapping the teacher. He looked at the teacher with venom in his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Sasori Akasuna. Konoha High School. Nothing else to say."

"Oh? Then let me ask you. Do you like sports? Soccer, baseball, perhaps Kendo?"

"I am okay with sports."

"Do you like vanilla pudding?"

"Never tried it before."

"Do you comb your hair?"

"Of course, sensei."

"What time do you sleep every night?"

"Not for you to know, sensei."

"Then, any girlfriend?"

"That's a tad too personal, sensei."

An evil glint was seen in Orochimaru's eyes. "Well, we'll get to know one another better soon, Sasori-kun, and perhaps when we start on our lessons, you won't be so _stubborn."_

Sasori glared at the smiling teacher, who beckoned for him to sit down and called another student to stand up and make a self-introduction. This teacher was a scumbag. A teacher who would most likely give him a lot of trouble. He knew that offending a teacher on the first day of school was definitely not a good thing, but he couldn't stand the idiotic teacher. What was he doing, asking personal questions?

"You shouldn't have showed him that rude side of you," said Kankurou.

"I know," replied Sasori, obviously still in a bad mood, "but he was so -"

At this moment, an announcement was made throught the school PA system, asking the students and teachers to report to the large school hall. It was time for the welcome ceremony.

Orochimaru closed his attendance book and looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, well, I see that it's time for us to go," he said, "we'll continue with the introduction later. Come on, class, we don't want to be late, do we?" With that, he went out of the class, a smirk plastered on his face. It was very, very irritating.

_That Orochimaru... _

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_  
_As soon as the students and teachers had settled down in the school hall, the performance began. Tsunade gave an inspirational speech, as the performers backstage quickly prepared for their performances. There was a great hustle and bustle backstage as the students ran about frantically, doing last minute preparations and practices.

Itachi was smirking. He was in the make-up room, looking at Deidara, who had already slipped on the long, rose-red dress with a nice golden ribbon tied at the back. He wore a pair of golden ballet flats,since he couldn't keep his balance on high heels. A chain of colourful beads hung from his neck, and he was wearing a large wooden bangle on his right wrist. He really looked like a girl now.

Deidara was obviously not feeling very comfortable wearing this dress. It made him feel rather girly. Even the make-up stylist had commented that he looked a lot like a girl. So much so that he didn't need any make-up. Of course, that was just a joke. Deidara's eyes were lightly caked with glittery maroon and gold eyeshadow, and some eyeliner and mascara. His cheeks were brushed with shades of light pink blush powder, all done by the stylist. His hair was in curls, and a small daisy-flower clip pinned up his long fringe covering his left eye.

Really, one would have mistaken him for a lady.

Itachi studied his dance partner. Well, all set and ready to dance. Just that there was one thing he needed to do. Taking a step towards his partner, he gently pulled the small velvet ribbon which held Deidara's side ponytail in place, causing the ribbon to loosen and the knot to become undone. Soft golden hair fell down lightly onto Deidara's shoulders as Itachi twirled the ribbon around his fingers.

"Itachi, what are you doing?" asked Deidara. surprised by the sudden action.

"You look better when your hair is let down," replied the brunette, smiling, "so I think taking off that ponytail would be better."

"But its really kinda hot in here, hn," said Deidara, fanning himself with his two hands. He was already beginning to sweat under the strong stage lighting.

"Silly, its because you're nervous," replied Itachi. Truthfully, he was sweating underneath his crisp black tuxuedo too. He didn't want Deidara to tie up his hair - he looked more feminine when his hair was let down.

At that moment, Tsunade finished making her speech and everyone in the large hall applauded loudly. The stage-hand quickly ran backstage to tell the performers to hurry up.

"First performance, get ready! Drama and Waltz performers, prepare yourselves quickly. Tsunade has finished making her speech," she said, waving a large paper fan in the air frantically.

Kiba and Hinata came up to Itachi and Deidara, both dressed in their waltz costumes. Hinata was wearing a dark blue dress with diamonds at the collar, and a large silver bow at the back. There was a bronze brooch pinned on her dress, and it was in the shape of a heart.

"Kiba-kun gave it to me," explained Hinata shyly as she noticed Deidara looking at it.

"Hmm, Kiba? Romantic, aren't you?" Itachi grinned. Kiba looked a little flustered as Hinata gave him a cute smile.

"W-whatever. Deidara, you look awesome! Who knew you really looked so good in a dress - I bet all the boys are gonna drool over you when you perform," said he said, quickly changing the subject.

Deidara cringed. Boys drooling over him? No thanks, he wouldn't like that. "Hn, more like they'll drool over Hinata. And the girls will fangirl over you."

"How about Itachi?"

"He can wait, he's too ugly," said Deidara, smirking. Itachi's smile faded, and turned into a frown.

"I am ugly? You think so? If I am ugly, you are uglier," he replied simply.

Deidara was about to say something in protest when he heard the stage-hand calling for the waltz performers. He scoffed and stomped off, leaving Itachi smirking.

_'Just too cute,' _he thought, following his angry dance partner.

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**"Oh, my beautiful Mariko-chan, don't go!"**

**"You cheated on me! I have to go, I must go, I will go! Go to your precious Tamako-chan and kiss her on her cherry lips; I have no place in your cold heart!"**

**"I do not love her at all! You are my only one. How many nights I have dreamt of you?"**

**"None, I know! Now, I will die before you to appease your heart of stone and that vixen!" **

**"ARGH!" **

Sasori looked boredly at the stage as the curtains closed after the female lead collapsed on the floor. Finally, the drama performance had ended. Kankurou was already dozing off, and was snoring beside him. The drama performance was utter crap! And what was with the "darling, you are forever mine" and the "friends for life and forever? Friends forever and for life"? How stupid, was this the freaking standard of a rich, prestigious school?

'This performance sucks, I bet there's nothing interesting to watch,' he thought. He was beginning to feel sleepy. Around him, many people were falling asleep too. Hm, so the drama was _that_ uninteresting?

Finally, after a minute or so, the stage lights came on again. This time, there were two pairs of dancers on the stage - two in nice flowing dresses and two in smart tuxudoes. They were going to perform a dance. Sasori blearily opened his eye and looked at the dancers, who had already begun dancing. The two people on the right side of the stage looked very familiar.

As the sweet melody entered Sasori's ears, his eyes widened as he saw something which he shouldn't have seen. Deidara was on stage, dancing quietly. He was so beautiful, with his outfit, the makeup and his hair - it was gorgeous. When the boy let down his long golden hair, it was simply amazing. He looked like a fairytale princess. A nice shade of red spread all over Sasori's cheeks.

But the problem was, the "prince" was _Itachi. _Dressed in that black suit, he grasped Deidara's hands firmly and led him through the dance. He was smiling at Deidara, and Deidara was smiling too, though one could see that he was a little nervous. Sasori felt a bitter feeling surge in his chest. Around him he could see many guys whispering and staring at the dancers.

_"Hey, that girl dancing with Itachi looks sweet!"_

_"It's not a girl, its Deidara, the commoner transfer student. He's a boy!"_

_"What, really? I think he looks really pretty. If he was a girl, I'd ask him to be my girlfriend."_

_"Yeah, I would too. Really...he looks great with Itachi Uchiha, doesn't he?"_

_"Sure thing!"_

Sasori clenched his fist. This totally sucked. He was already full of jealousy. Deidara seemed to be enjoying himself - as Itachi pulled him close to his chest, his face turned red. Sasori was a little confused. So did Deidara actually like Itachi?

Deidara and Itachi didn't notice the redhead among the audience. They were so lost in the dance that they simply kept dancing to the music. The more they danced, the angrier Sasori became. When the dance was finished, Sasori was already scowling. Deidara looked so pretty, yet he couldn't bring himself to smile. All because of Itachi.

Everything made sense. Itachi was so much better than himself. There was no need to intervene or explain anything. Even people who didn't exactly know Itachi and Deidara thought looked good together. Why did he even come here to this school? He could easily find a girlfriend and just forget about everything.

Fuming, Sasori got up and made his way to the washroom. He felt a need to calm himself down. He made his way to the nearest washroom, beside the baskstage door. But it turned out to be quite full, so he went to the washroom upstairs. Turning on the tap, he splashed his face with the cool, clear water, letting the transparent beads roll down his face and drip off his chin. He looked very bitter. He knew he should control himself, but it was too much. Just thinking of how much Deidara enjoyed himself during the dance made him feel sick. Plus, when he was confined to his bed, Deidara always had to go to Itachi's house, giving the brunette loads of opportunites to make Deidara like him. Moreover, Deidara seemed to be talking more and more about Itachi than ever before, and Sasori felt very uncomfortable. Lastly, everyone seemed to think that the Uchiha looked great with Deidara.

Suddenly, he heard familiar voices coming from the hall.

"Itachi, I'm going to wash off my make-up. I feel really uncomfortable."

"Really. But you look good like that, in your dress and make-up. OK, I'll be at the backstage waiting for you. I have to settle some things."

"OK." Footsteps were heard as Deidara made his way into the washroom. It took him five seconds to realise who was in the washroom with him.

There was silence for awhile as Deidara stared at the redhead. Messy, red hair, sleepy-look, a little shorter than himself...and wearing the Konoha High uniform. What did this mean?

"S-s-sasori, hn?"

Sasori looked quietly at his friend. There was a look in his eyes which Deidara didn't like. It felt uncomfortable to be looked at with those blazing eyes. Sasori was practically drilling holes in him with those eyes of his.

"Why are you here, hn? I thought you were supposed to be in Konoha High..."

The redhead looked down at the floor, then turned back to face the mirror. "I transferred here. I'm on the scholarship program for woodworks."

Deidara seemed stunned for a moment. "Really? Why didn't you tell me earlier? We could have walked to school together!"

Sasori scoffed. He didn't want to tell Deidara that he had seen him get into Itachi's car in the morning. "Would you?"

"What do you mean, Sasori?"

"Nothing. Just wanna tell you, _great_ performance. Keep up the good work." _And soon. Itachi Uchiha will be yours. _

"Was that supposed to be sarcastic?" Deidara folded his arms.

Sasori didn't feel like staying in the washroom any longer. "Go figure it out yourself," he replied, walking out of the washroom and into the hall, "You know what I am talking about very well."

Suddenly Deidara anxiously grabbed Sasori's arm. "What the hell are you talking about, hn? Didn't I do a great job? What's with you now, hn?"

"What's with me? I complemented you, and you're saying all that?" Sasori asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I know you don't mean it that way. You meant it another way."

Sasori looked at Deidara's blue eyes. Even though Pein had told him to keep his calm and just bear with everything and fight his best, Sasori felt that he couldn't take all this. Wasn't it already useless; he wasn't in the same class as Deidara, and everything would be the same as before. Now he and Deidara were barely best friends. The latter was spending so much time with Itachi, anyone would have mistaken both of them for best friends. He, Sasori, was just like a normal acquaintance.

"I guess. You can always take Itachi to the swings. I will probably have no time to go. You can take him to the supermarkets too. I don't care."

"Sasori, what are you saying? Why must I take Itachi there?" Deidara asked.

"Don't lie already; didn't you take him there that day and had ramen with him? You took him to the supermarkets too. I can't say that we are actually best friends anymore, you can have this back." Sasori yanked a small friendship bracelet off his wrist and put it beside the sink. Deidara stared in shock.

"It was nice to be your friend. While the friendship lasted, of course. Give this to Itachi, or you can throw it away," said the redhead solemnly.

"Wait, why are you doing this? Am I not your best friend? Itachi can never be compared to you, Sasori!"

"Shut up," said Sasori, "You know it yourself - now he might seem like a normal friend, but soon, I don't wanna think about what will happen. Hate me if you like. We are best friends in name, it seems. But don't you realize that we actually are drifting apart. No, you're too stupid. I shouldn't have come here, you know. Watching you and Itachi coming together and slowly becoming lovers - "

Deidara moved forward and slapped Sasori on the cheek. A stinging pain made Sasori wince a little, as he slowly put a hand on the swollen part of his face.

"What the hell are you talking about? I have known you for a longer time than Itachi. I am, and will always be your best friend. I will not allow you to do this. Take the bracelet back."

Sasori looked nonchalantly at his friend. "I told you, keep it and give it to Itachi. He would like it. Or, would you like me to give it to him myself?"

Deidara felt like he had been shot by a gun. "Why are you acting like this? This isn't you. This isn't the Sasori I know."

"Get lost. I am who I am; you have no right to tell me that. You have no right to slap me. Who are you to do that anyway? I need to go now." He walked out of the washroom, leaving a crestfallen Deidara behind with the bracelet.

_'I bet he's happy now,' _thought Sasori as he made his way down the hall. The ceremony was still going on. He sat beside Kankurou and smiled a little. He had to forget everything now.

Deidara was standing in the washroom, frozen to the spot when Itachi came in. The Uchiha looked worried.

"What happened? You look pale - you took such a long time that I decided to come up here to check on you," he said.

Deidara eyes were still wide with shock.

"I saw - I saw - I - I saw Sasori."


	16. Chapter 16

_**Just wanted to give everyone who read or reviewed my story a BIG THANK YOU :D**_

**Chapter 16**

There was silence.

Itachi's eyes widened. It felt as though he had been struck by lightning. He was no fool - he knew what this meant. It could only mean that Sasori had enrolled in Konoha High.

"Where is he?" asked the Uchiha.

"He - he left a moment ago," replied Deidara in a cracked voice. He was utterly confused by Sasori's actions. His eyes met the small bead bracelet beside the sink. It lay on the white porcelain tiles sadly. Picking it up slowly and fingering it quietly, he suddenly turned and ran out of the washroom. He had to find out where Sasori was and clarify things with him.

Itachi ran out with Deidara, not sure of what was going on. But he could tell that something bad had happened - the hurt look on Deidara's face, the way he spoke, and that bracelet...Itachi wanted to ask so many questions, but this was not the time to do that. As they reached the back of the school hall, Deidara quickly scanned the crowd for a familiar redhead, but at that moment, all the students stood up and clapped their hands loudly. It turned out that Tsunade was going to receive a bouquet of flowers from a student representative. Sasori was too short too be seen; all the taller students blocked him from Deidara's vision.

By now Deidara was already so anxious that he was mumbling things to himself and looked ready to cry. He jumped up and down, trying in vain search for Sasori, but he just couldn't spot that one person. Itachi stared at him. He had never seen Deidara act like this before, and it was just so heartwrenching to see him in this state.

Suddenly, Deidara tripped over the long dress he was wearing and fell onto the floor, his eyes filled with anxiety and confusion. Itachi was startled by the sudden fall and quickly went over to help Deidara up. He was no longer like the hot-tempered chilli he once knew - he didn't even bother to push Itachi away.

"Deidara, what is happening to you?!" asked the Uchiha worriedly.

"Where is Sasori? I have to see him, hn. I have to. Help me find him, please!"

"What did he do to you? Why do you have that bracelet, and why are you like this?"

"Help me find Sasori, please!" Deidara pleaded, grabbing Itachi's hand, "I cannot afford to lose -"

"Look Deidara, you're not very stable now. When you feel better, you can tell me what happened,"

"Sasori - mmph!" Deidara found his face buried into Itachi's chest as Itachi gave him a reassuring hug. The younger teenager found himself in a state of shock.

"Tell me everything, okay? I'll be happy to listen to you," said the Uchiha soothingly.

Deidara didn't know what to say or do, but just simply clutched Itachi's blazer tightly. At that moment, Kankurou dragged Sasori to the washroom with him, and as the redhead stepped out of the hall, he caught sight of two familiar figures standing at beside the stairway behind him. Both of them didn't seem to notice him; the sight of the duo hugging made Sasori feel less regretful about his previous action, yet somehow sore.

_'I guess they really do like each other,'_ he thought as he scrunched up his fist and walked away.

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School ended early today, since the ceremony had taken quite a long while. Besides, Tsunade had decided to let the students rest at home, for all their hard work put into the welcome ceremony.

Deidara was in a daze. He and Itachi had stayed back after school, and were now in an empty classroom, with their bags on the desks. Itachi was determined to get the truth out of Deidara, who was still holding the bracelet. He looked up at Deidara, then spoke.

"What happened?"

Deidara hesitated for a moment. It seemed that he didn't want to tell Itachi anything, and that he didn't trust Itachi that much.

"You can trust me, Deidara," said Itachi.

"...Sasori - I saw Sasori in the washroom. He - he told me he transferred to Konoha High by the woodworks scholarship..."

Itachi nodded. He knew it.

"And he - he told me...hn..." Deidara's face turned pale as he remembered his conversation with Sasori.

_"Don't lie already; didn't you take him there that day and had ramen with him? You took him to the supermarkets too. I can't say that we are actually best friends anymore, you can have this back." _

_"It was nice to be your friend. While the friendship lasted, of course. Give this to Itachi, or you can throw it away."_

_"Get lost. I am who I am; you have no right to tell me that. You have no right to slap me. Who are you to do that anyway? I need to go now."_

"Itachi, what should I do?" cried Deidara in an exasperated tone, "he's never done this before! He's never this mean to me. He even gave me back this..." He showed the Uchiha the friendship bracelet.

Itachi examined it. It was a simple, wooden bead bracelet, and could not even be compared to the pearl bracelets his mother kept at home. Why was it that important to Deidara?

"What's that?"

"A friendship bracelet, hn. A few months after I became his friend, I took Sasori to a bead shop and we made friendship bracelets together. He's never taken it off his wrist ever since. This is our friendship, Itachi. I cannot lose it. But, I don't even know what he was talking about, hn..."

But Itachi knew what was going on. He suspected that Sasori knew his feelings towards Deidara. Sasori wasn't dumb, of course he would suspect something. He wondered what Sasori was doing.

Deidara felt a tear roll down his cheek. "Itachi, have I done anything wrong? What have I done? Why is Sasori angry at me?"

_'Deidara...'_ Itachi looked at his friend, looking concerned. He had to do something. He must speak to Sasori. He had to. Sasori owed both him and Deidara an explanation.

When Sasori reached home, he simply flung his schoolbag onto the floor and flopped onto his bed. Today, he had been impulsive. But he couldn't take it anymore. After a whole afternoon of playing arcade games with Kankurou at the mall, he had sorted his thoughts out. He would pursue his art, and try to get the title of "scholar of the year". All his focus and thoughts would now be placed on his art. But somewhere in his heart, he wanted to apologize to Deidara.

Sighing, the redhead reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. His eyes widened as he saw the number of missed calls and messages he had received. The arcade had been so noisy that he didn't hear his phone ring. Flipping open the phone, he looked at the message senders and callers list. The calls and messages were mostly from Deidara. Pein and Konan, Kakuzu and Hidan had messaged him, and so did Itachi. What a pain in the neck. He pressed a button and began to read his messages.

**From: Deidara **

**Message: Sasori, I'm sorry if I did anything wrong. Please forgive me. Please be my friend. I promise I won't laugh at your art again. **

**From: Deidara**

**Message: Sasori, please don't ignore me. Why are you not picking up my calls? Please call me or message me back...anything would do.**

**From: Deidara**

**Message: Sasori, please don't treat me this way. Please tell me this was a joke. You were joking, right? Please say yes.**

Sasori couldn't take it anymore. All of Deidara's messages were pleas. He scrolled down and read the other messages. After 53 messages, the redhead finally found a message that wasn't sent by Deidara.

**From: Pein**

**Message: Did you do anything to Deidara? He's told me everything. How could you do that? What did you go to that school for? You must learn to persevere, Sasori. Call me back when you see this. **

**From: Konan**

**Message: Sasori, don't be like this. Deidara is really very upset right now. Do comfort him and apologize to him. **

**From: Hidan**

**Message: WHAT THE ARE YOU DOING, REDHEAD? DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU CRUMBLE AT SUCH LITTLE THINGS? LISTEN UP, YOU WENT TO THAT RICH SCHOOL TO FIGHT THINGS OUT WITH THE UCHIHA, AND NOT TO GIVE UP ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. GET THIS RIGHT! DEI-CHAN WAS REALLY HURT. HE CAME TO LOOK US UP AT KONOHA HIGH TODAY, AND TOLD US EVERYTHING. YOU'D BETTER MAKE THINGS RIGHT, OR ELSE I WILL - message is too long, therefore will be cut off. **

**From: Kakuzu**

**Message: Take it easy, Sasori. Don't give up now. We're all behind you. I expect Hidan has already messaged you a long lecture so I figured that I didn't need to say anything more. **

Sasori groaned. He was already feeling frustrated enough, yet Hidan had to rub it in. The last message caught his attention, though.

**From: Itachi**

**Message: Sasori, it's me, Itachi. I need to talk to you about some things. It's urgent. Please meet me at CAFE COFFEE tomorrow at 4pm. I will wait for you there until you arrive. Yours Sincerely, Itachi.**

Sasori rolled his eyes. So, Deidara had told the whole world, apparently. Was he really so upset? As he stared at the ceiling blankly, his grandmother knocked on the door softly.

"Sasori-chan? I'd like to discuss something with you..."

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The next day came rather quickly. Sasori had left the house, and was headed towards CAFE COFFEE in town. He didn't want to see Itachi, but there was not much of a choice. Who was he to stand up against a rich person anyway?

Pushing the glass door open, Sasori was greeted by a smiling waitress who immediately led him into one of the guest rooms.

"Itachi-sama told me that you have distinct red, messy hair, so I guessed that the Sasori he was talking about was you," she said, noticing Sasori's puzzled look. She stopped in front of a large wooden door and knocked on it lightly, then opened it slowly. In the room sat Uchiha Itachi, sipping a cup of warm coffee. When he saw the redhead, he put down the cup gently and folded his arms.

"Itachi-sama, Sasori is here," said the waitress politely.

The Uchiha nodded. "Alright, you may leave the room. Thank you very much." The waitress bowed, closed the door and left as Itachi pointed to a seat opposite him.

"Do sit down, Sasori." Sasori did as he was told, and sat down on the chair cautiously.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly.

Itachi kept a straight face. "I'm sure you know what is my purpose in calling you here today," he replied.

"To talk to me about something, I know. What is it?" asked Sasori impatiently. He hated waiting.

"I need to talk to you about someone we both know," said Itachi, looking into the redhead's eyes, "and it's pretty urgent, too. Deidara will be coming later, so we could start first."

Sasori glared at Itachi. "You never said Deidara was coming in the message."

"Well, I have already told you, haven't I?" Itachi said, "he's stuck in a traffic jam, so I'm actually going to talk to you first. I have been wanting to speak to you for a long time - just the two of us..." He pushed a glass of ice-lemon tea towards Sasori.

"Well, I have other things to do, if its not important, you could talk about it some other time," said Sasori, turning around and walking towards the door.

Itachi sighed. "If you're thinking about going home, think again. I've got two bodyguards waiting for Deidara outside the door. They'll be gone once he's here. They'll stop you anyhow, you know."

Sasori froze. Crap, there were actually bodyguards outside the door? Hesitating a bit, he pulled himself back and sat on one of the cushioned chairs reluctantly. He knew it would be futile to try and go out of this room.

"What do you want? Shoot, I don't have the time to joke around with you."

"Joke? Who's joking here? Tell me, why did you do that to Deidara?"

The redhead scoffed. "He told you, huh? What a funny person. I expected better than this."

Hearing this made Itachi angry. "What do you mean? I thought you and him were supposed to be good friends. Best friends. So, why did you return the bracelet to him?"

"He didn't give it to you, huh." Sasori folded his arms.

"He wouldn't ever do that," replied Itachi, feeling quite frustrated already.

"Oh shut up, Itachi. How would you ever know that? He likes you a lot. And you like him a lot too. So, why don't I get out of the picture? I'm sure that's just what you want," replied Sasori, smirking.

Itachi found himself speechless. Whatever Sasori had said was true, but...anyway, anything that made Deidara sad would make him sad.

"Got anything to say already? If no, I think I could tell you something. Everyone's been blaming me about this, but have they ever thought about how I felt? I know you like Deidara. Deidara likes you a lot too. I saw you two hugging the other day, so what else can you say?" asked Sasori.

"I - "

"Besides," continued the redhead, "I think Deidara's happy when he is with you. I'd rather see him happy."

"He's already happy!"

"I know Deidara better than you do, so shut up!"

Itachi couldn't take it anymore. "I admit, I like Deidara. But is this how you treat your friendship with him?"

"Over the past few weeks, that brat has been talking about you a lot. He's speaking so much about you, and I don't really message or talk to him so much right now. I figured that he liked you, and after what I saw in school, I think my suspicion is correct. I do like him myself, but if I let you two be together, I think it's better. Besides, you two look good together." Sasori clenched his fist tightly.

"How can you say that?! Your feelings are all messed up! You..." Itachi's voice trailed off as the door opened slowly, revealing a pale-faced teenager. Apparently, Deidara had heard everything. He stepped into the room quietly, staring at Sasori. The redhead's eyes widened.

"Sasori..." said Deidara as his hand let go of the doorknob.

There was silence in the room for moment, which was broken by Sasori as his face darkened a little.

"I'll be going now," he said, standing up and making his way to the door, only to be held back by Deidara.

"Where are you going? Why didn't you message me back, and what was your conversation all about?"

"I'm going home."

"I'll come with you!"

"You can stay and have tea with Itachi."

"I don't want to."

Itachi stood up. "You owe us both an explanation. This is why I called you here today."

"What explanation? What is there to say? Listen, I know that you like Deidara, and I think Deidara is happier when he is with you, so I'm getting out of the picture. Isn't this what you wanted, always?" Sasori snapped.

Deidara looked at Itachi with confused eyes as the Uchiha felt his mouth go dry. Smiling a little, he turned to face Deidara.

"A simple question, do you like Itachi more than a friend?" he asked.

"I - I like Itachi as..." Deidara felt horrible. It felt like Sasori was interrogating him. He didn't know how he felt about Itachi, or Sasori. He had never thought about it before.

"Originally, I thought that I could win Deidara's heart by transferring to Konoha High and spending more time with him. Turns out, everything would be the same as before. You two have the whole day to yourselves, and I only have forty-five minutes with Deidara per day during lunchtime. You two have many projects to do, so I doubt Deidara would I would have any time to talk or meet up. I feel like I don't really exist in his heart anymore," finished the redhead, his bottom lip trembling as he remembered all the things Deidara had said or messaged to him.

Everything. Was about Itachi.

_**"I'm sorry, Itachi and I have an art project to do. Another time, perhaps. Sorry, Sasori."**_

_**"Sorry, I can't visit you today. I have to practice my dance with Itachi." **_

_**"Sasori, the supermarkets - I took Itachi there today. He was such a stupid idiot not to know what broccoli was!"**_

_**"Itachi is so funny! He almost banged into a pole today."**_

_**"Itachi made me wear a dress today, what the hell!"**_

"Are you...possibly jealous?" Itachi asked, being very straightforward. He wasn't sure what to say; after all, the current situation in the room was very tense.

"..." Sasori glared daggers at Itachi, his face reddening. What the hell, who was the Uchiha to say that? He was already starting to lose his sense of control. Quick as a flash, a threw a punch at Itachi, causing the other to flinch. Deidara gasped, and ran over to Itachi, trying to shield him from Sasori's attacks.

"Stop it!" he cried, helping Itachi up from the marble floor. But Sasori didn't care, he continued to attack Itachi, with intense hatred in his eyes.

"I SAID STOP IT, GET OFF HIM! _GO AWAY!" _Deidara screamed, hugging Itachi tightly as blood dribbled down the brunette's chin.

At this point, the redhead stopped completely. This was absolute proof - he didn't need to told twice. He clenched both fists tightly, then kicked a chair hard and stormed out of the door. He would never forgive the Uchiha, ever. For making Deidara say "go away" to him.

"I'd be gone in a month's time, anyway," muttered Sasori as he disappeared down the corridor, leaving the duo behind.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Sasori slammed the door of his bedroom loudly and flopped onto his bed. This sucked - Deidara had actually told him to go away. For the first time in his life. He buried his head into his pillow and screamed as his grandma came into the room.

"Sasori-chan, so have you decided?" she asked.

Sasori looked at her with tired eyes. Oh yes, his grandma had asked him about _that.._.

**Yesterday:**

_"Sasori-chan, we will be moving to Suna city next month," said Grandma Chiyo. _

_Sasori stared. Why were they going to move? _

_"But, aren't we doing very well here?" he asked. _

_His grandma nodded slowly. "Yes, but your Uncle Sandaime has requested that he takes care of you. Your mother was his sister, so he feels that he should look after you. Besides, in Suna City, you will get to go to the famous School of Wood-crafting and puppet-making. It's even better than Konoha High." _

_"But - I have just gotten the scholarship to Konoha High! And - my friends..." _

_"I know, but think about it. You can always contact your friends through email or messaging, but going to that famous school will do you good. It is open to every aspiring wood-crafter, and there are no limits to the number of places available. You could always come back to visit your friends...Anyway, I'd like you to think about it. I do hope that you will go to Suna City with me."_

Sighing, he stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll tell you after this week has passed. I need to think about it."

"Well, we can't wait for that long, Sasori. You have to tell me by tomorrow. The date has been postponed to next week, since your uncle has done all the paperwork for you yesterday. He thought it would take at least three weeks to finish the paperwork, but in the end, it took less time than that."

Sasori stopped in his tracks. Crap, it was that quick? He had to think about it fast. Taking his jacket, he went down the stairs and headed towards the arcade at the mall. It was time to release some stress on the drums. The arcade was full of people gaming, laughing and smiling. Only he looked like a thundercloud, ready to release his anger on the drumset. He played for a good long while and completed all the levels, and decided to play again. He hit on the drums so hard that the sticks almost broke. As he kicked the game set in frustration, a certain pink-haired girl spotted him and went over to him.

Sakura Haruno, the stupid girl.

"Sasori-kun?" she asked politely, standing behind him. The redhead looked at her; great, the idiotic girl was here. He was sure she was going to make more trouble for him. Leaving the drumsticks on the surface of the game set, he answered, "yes?"

"...uh, nothing, just wanted to say hello," answered Sakura quietly, fidgeting a little, "oh, yeah, were you looking for Deidara?..."

Sasori clenched his fist, then let it go again. "No," he replied simply.

"You don't look too good, Do you want to rest a little?"

"No. Hey, do you have any time to spare? Want to play a few games before you go home?"

Sakura was a little surprised, but happily agreed. So, the both of them went around the arcade, playing all the games there was. Car racing, shooting, ddr, para para, drumming, hammer the frog etc. They played and played, until it was quite late in the evening. Finally, the duo bought dinner at a nearby stall and ate at the steps of the mall. Much to Sakura's displeasure about sitting on dirty ground, she complied as Sasori dusted the steps for her. While they were eating, Sasori's cellphone kept ringing, but he chose to ignore it.

"Don't bother about it," he told Sakura as she looked at him questioningly.

"But why?"

"Just don't bother. Eat your food," came the reply.

Sakura put her chopsticks down. "What happened? You don't look too happy. You could tell me...if you don't mind, your troubles..."

The redhead looked at those green eyes for awhile. He seemed to find difficulty in trusting in Sakura. After all, she did try to harm him once. He gave her a skeptical look.

The pink-haired girl noticed his expression, and quickly tried to convince him. "Look," she said, "if I had any plan to harm you, I would have already done so, and not wait until now."

Sasori hesitated for awhile, then continued eating his food. After swallowing a mouthful of rice, he said, "I might be moving to Suna City next month - no, next week."

Sakura's eyes widened upon hearing the news. "What?" she exclaimed, dropping her chopsticks.

"You heard it," said Sasori, spooning some fishcakes into his mouth, "but, I don't know if I should go...and I have some problems left unsolved..."

"Like?"

"...I quarrelled with Deidara. I don't know how to say this, but...a few weeks ago, I just found out that I really like him a lot, but we seem to be drifting further and further apart, and at this rate, I don't even dare to dream of becoming his love...or friend, anymore."

"You...like Deidara?" Sakura looked stunned. That hyperactive, hot-tempered teenager in her class, whom no one really paid much attention to?

Sasori nodded quietly. "I hope that he's happy now, since I've gotten out of the picture...it was out of impulse, but...with Itachi by his side...I do think that he won't feel any difference if I leave."

"Don't go - !" Sakura felt her lips move against her will. Sasori stared at her. What on earth...

"Why would you care?" he asked curiously.

"Because - because I - " Sakura stopped suddenly. What would Sasori think if she confessed to him right now? Besides, it wasn't really very appropriate to confess to him at the moment.

"It's alright though, because...I was thinking, if I could go to Suna City an start a new life and forget everything. Maybe it would be so bad. After all, I am a coward. I actually came to Konoha High to win Deidara over, yet I was beaten down on the first day of school...I am stupid, right?" Sasori looked up at the sky. The sun was just setting, and the sky was painted with a brilliant array of colours.

"No, you aren't stupid, I promise!" Sakura protested, "and actually...why not stay behind? Anyway, why are you moving to Suna all of a sudden? What about your scholarship?"

Sasori sighed. "Because my uncle wants to take care of me. My parents are dead, you see, and my grandma is old now. And the famous school for wood-crafting and puppet-making is in Suna. My scholarship could be cancelled I guess...Anyway, I think it would be better to let Itachi and Deidara be together. I shouldn't force anything..."

Sakura could not believe what she had just heard. Just when had started to like the redhead, he was leaving? No, this wouldn't do. But she knew she had to respect his wishes.

"...if that's you want, then take care," said Sakura, forcing a smile, "I will be behind you all the way, though."

Sasori looked at Sakura. He was beginning to see her differently - the last time he thought she was a stupid, spoilt lady who knew nothing about common sense. But now, she seemed like a mature person. Smiling, he stood up and stretched his arms out.

"Ahh, thanks a lot for hearing me out. I think...I do have the answer already, its just that I can't bear to leave some things behind. Like Deidara's case, I kept hesitating to admit that I like him, but now, this has to be firm."

Sakura looked at the redhead. He looked so tall and handsome, and the first rays of moonlight seemed to make a perfect backdrop for him.

"Thanks for hearing me out...don't tell anyone about this, ok? I'd rather they not know first," said Sasori.

The pink-haired girl blushed a little. "OK, I won't tell anyone, not even Ino," she promised.

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Deidara stared blankly at the blaring television. He was now in Pein's house, and the rest of the gang were there, too. Pein sighed as he redialled Sasori's number for the tenth time. Crap, the redhead was not picking up his cellphone! He finally sat down on an empty space on the couch as Konan brought out a plate of oranges and placed it before Deidara.

"C'mon, eat a little, Deidara. You didn't eat much during dinner..."

Deidara shook his head. "Nah, I don't feel hungry."

Hidan scoffed. "You don't feel hungry? You barely ate a spoonful of rice, and you are not hungry? Hey, who are you kidding?"

Kakuzu elbowed the foul-mouthed teenager as Deidara didn't say anything. It was so obvious that he was upset - his cheeks lacked colour, his hair was in a mess, his clothes were dusty and his eyes lacked the usual vigour it had. It was Pein and the gang who had found him wandering aimessly on the streets, and brought him back to Pein's home to ask him what had happened.

Konan sat on the couch beside Deidara and put one hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, Deidara. Sasori's just feeling upset."

"Upset? Why?" asked Deidara quietly.

"That is for you to find out, Deidara," replied Pein, folding his arms in frustration. Sasori, that idiot! What was he doing, ignoring everyone's calls and messages?

"I - I told him to go away today," Deidara said, "but that was because Sasori was beating up Itachi so hard there was blood!"

"Oh, so Sasori turned violent?" Hidan looked thoughtful.

"But why is he so upset...he's been acting strange lately." Deidara slowly bit into a piece of orange.

"Did you ever consider why," said Pein, "that Sasori would want to go to Konoha High?"

The blue-eyed boy looked grim. "For his art, for his puppets," came the reply.

"Ch! How dumb can you get? Seems like you don't really understand Sasori at all. And you call him your best friend?" Hidan groaned, slapping his forehead with his hand as Deidara looked at him, looking pretty confused.

"What?"

"Well," said Konan gently, "what Hidan means is...Sasori went to Konoha High for you. In order to see you more often and talk to you more, he made that choice. It wasn't solely for his art."

Deidara stared in shock. What did she mean?

"Sasori was very jealous when he saw that you and Itachi were getting closer and closer, and that you were 'leaving' him behind. I expect this is why he attacked Itachi and said those cold remarks to you," said Kakuzu.

"But why would he be so jealous - "

Hidan couldn't take it anymore. "Because, Dei-chan, he likes you a lot. He likes you more than a best friend. If you don't understand what this means, then I will spell it out for you right now. It's L-O-V-E. Love, if you do know what that means. He loves you a lot. He wasn't willing to admit this at first, but he gradually came to terms with it, and that idiot applied to go to Konoha High for you."

"But Itachi - you were getting so close to him that I guess Sasori got discouraged. You know him - he looks and seems strong, but inside, he really is weak. Hidan gave him a lecture, and finally that dummy woke up and realized how he felt about you..." Konan said, "I think he was very heart-broken to see you being so close to Itachi...and you were sort of neglecting him. He didn't know what to do either. He once told me that he thought the Uchiha was better than him in terms of status and looks you know."

Deidara froze. He was unable to take in everything at once. The words processed slowly in his brain as he struggled to understand them properly. Pein understood what was happening and stepped in.

"In other words, Deidara, Sasori loves you. So, how do you feel about him? And do you love Sasori, or Itachi, or none of them?"

Deidara turned to face Pein, trembling slightly with shock. How did he feel about Sasori? And did he like Itachi? These were questions he had to ponder over quickly and seriously; unknown to him, in a weeks time, Sasori would be moving to Suna City.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

Wednesday came.

For every passing day, Sasori counted down his departure to Suna City. He was leaving on Monday night, and he needed to get all his things ready. As he opened a gym bag and stuffed some clothes and towels into it, he caught sight of a small photo frame on his bedside table. A photo of him and Deidara before they graduated from middle school.

Sigh, everything had gone well before High School started. If only Konoha High did not exist - if only Uchiha Itachi did not exist - if only...If only he had the _courage_ to fight back against Itachi. The redhead knew he shouldn't be taking along anything related to Deidara to Suna City if he wanted to forget everything about his bubbly friend, but he couldn't stop himself from putting the photo-frame and all the photos he had taken with Deidara into his luggage-bag. As he emptied his drawers and began sorting out the things that were in it, he spotted a small clay bird which Deidara had made for him during art class in middle school. There was a letter attached to it.

Sasori hadn't noticed the letter before. He had been too busy with his projects in middle school, he remembered, that he had just chucked the small clay bird into the drawer and forgot all about it. Delicately cupping the clay bird in his hands and taking it out of the dusty drawer, he placed it on the table and took a closer look at it. It was made of white clay, and the feathers were finely crafted. Taking the letter slowly, the redhead opened it and read it.

_**Sasori! **_

_**It's been two years since we've become friends. I really think you're a nice person. Thanks for always being by my side during recess, and when I need help. I hope that we can be friends forever. Hopefully this clay bird will remind you of me! Haha, am I being egoistic? **_

_**Love, Deidara V(,) **_

Sasori looked at the clay bird quietly. It made him want to apologize to Deidara for being so mean to him, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. What the hell, why was he like that? He simply put the clay bird in a small box and left it on the table, deciding to bring it along with him to Suna City.

The next day, Deidara was still pondering over many things. His mind was in a whirl when he reached his classroom. He didn't know what to do - he did like Sasori, and he liked Itachi...but did he only think of friendships, and not something more?

Itachi noticed the boy walking towards him, and noticed his listless expression. He wondered if he should confess to Deidara already, or wait until he felt happier.

Lunchtime came, and Deidara stood up to find Sasori's class. He had been trying to locate the redhead since he had gotten to school, but did not succeed. As he got out of his seat, Itachi stood up too.

"Where are you going, Deidara?" he asked.

Deidara didn't know how to face Itachi. After what Pein had said to him the night before. He gave the Uchiha a brief glance and said, "I'm going to find Sasori's class."

Itachi's face fell a little. "...woodworks classrooms are situated on the third floor," he said.

"Thanks a lot, hn."

"I'll come with you, in case you get lost."

"...there's no need to."

"I insist."

Deidara sighed. "Anything, hn," he replied, and walked out of the classroom silently, followed by Itachi, who was feeling a little upset by Deidara's reaction. Ever since that incident in the cafe, Deidara had been acting odd. As they climbed the stairs to the third floor, they heard familiar voices coming from the classroom beside the library.

"Shut up, Kankurou, and lets go to the cafeteria already."

"OK, OK! Wait for me, you impatient dumbass."

_"What did you say?"_

"Forget what I said, Sasori-sama!"

"Don't call me Sasori-sama, you idiot!"

Deidara froze momentarily as Sasori and Kankurou came round the corner, ready to go down the steps to the cafeteria. Sasori was a little startled by the sudden unexpected meeting, but didn't say anything. He simply walked down the steps past Deidara, followed by Kankurou. His red fringe covered his eyes; Deidara couldn't see those dull-coloured orbs at all. He wanted to stop Sasori and say something to him, but felt as if he had choked on a bone. The words wouldn't come out...

Crap, it was too late. The redhead was gone.

Itachi watched as Deidara simply stood on the steps, in a daze. It was heart-wrenching to see the one he liked in this state. As he stood behind his friend, wondering what to do next, he heard Deidara's voice.

"Itachi...I have something to ask you, hn."

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Sasori sat in the cafeteria, eating a sandwich quietly as Kankurou went off to queue for his favourite food, toasted waffles with ice cream and strawberries. As he chewed on the sandwich, he was wondering how life would be like in Suna. It was now winter there, so he would have to put some warm clothes into his hand-carry bags. Maybe he should really visit the winter wear shop for awhile. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a certain pink-haired girl sit down next to him.

"Thinking of something?" she asked, setting her lunch tray down.

Sasori was a little startled, but didn't say anything. He simply nodded, and continued eating.

"Well...so, are you really going to Suna?" asked Sakura.

"Yes," came the reply.

Sakura looked at her plate of food for a moment. "...you know something. Since you're gonna leave soon...I might as well tell you this now."

The redhead looked up at Sakura. What was she going to say now?

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say...that I like you. Actually, when I heard that you were going to leave, I wanted to convince you to stay behind...but I guess, it wouldn't do any good. I've thought over it already...But, I just want to know, if we could be friends? You see, I know you like someone else already, and I will respect that..."

Sasori couldn't believe that such mature words were coming from Sakura. He nearly dropped his sandwich in surprise.

"You know," continued Sakura, "Deidara is actually a nice person, so...cherish him." She ate a mouthful of food.

"...Yeah, I guess. You actually...you are a nice person. You can be a nice person if you want to, you know."

Sakura smiled. "Yes, I think everyone's like that. Anyway, I guess it would be okay to be friends, right? I still like you, though. But I won't be as unreasonable as Ino."

Sasori gave a weak smile. "Thanks a lot, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl took a sip of green tea, then asked, " anyway, what time and day is your flight? I'd like to send you off."

"9.30pm next Monday. But I've got to reach the airport at 7pm. And I'm going to have dinner there too."

"Well, I could join you for dinner, if you don't mind."

"OK."

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Itachi followed Deidara to the top of the school building. There was a high fence surrounding the area, and a light breeze was blowing. The Uchiha had absolutely no idea why Deidara had come here. He looked his friend questioningly.

Deidara didn't waste any time. He wanted an answer, short and simple. "Itachi, I want to ask you something. I've been pondering over some things lately, and I really want to sort all this out. I want to ask you this..."

Itachi immediately knew what was coming. He braced himself for the hit.

Deidara swallowed nervously. "Do you...like me? Uh...I heard what you said in the cafe the other day...hn."

Itachi's heart stopped for a moment. He knew it; it really was that question. He wasn't really prepared for this question; in fact, he didn't even want to answer it. But he knew that there was no escaping the question now. Biting his lip, he decided to confess his feelings on the spot.

"Yes, I like you," he said, waiting for Deidara's reaction.

The latter was stunned. "But - but how? I thought you disliked me - you even made me wear a kimono and a female staff uniform...you must be joking, right?" He took a step back.

Itachi shook his head. He had expected this reaction from Deidara, but did not know how to deal with the current situation. "I am not joking, Deidara. I am serious! I - I really like you a lot..."

Deidara stared. "Since when did you start liking me?"

"...I don't know. I guess it was when we went for the field trip. At first, I thought that you were a hot-tempered, childish brat, but...everything changed when you held my hand during the roller coaster ride..." Itachi looked away.

There was silence as Deidara struggled to find the right words to say. He didn't want to hurt Itachi, yet, the truth had to be told.

"Look, Itachi...I only treat you as a good friend, but I treat Sasori as a best friend. I'm not sure if he is more than a best friend to me, but...those years of friendship and times of joy can never be replaced by the friendship you and I have shared for the past few months."

Itachi felt his heart break. Somehow, he had expected this...but the pain of being rejected was terrible.

"But I treat you as a good friend. I really do. It's just that...Sasori is..."

Itachi held up his hand. "I know. It's ok," he said solemnly, "I - I guess that it was all one-sided..."

"...Itachi, you - "

"It's ok. I'm really fine. Thanks for telling me this. I'll try to forget you, but you must give me some time..."

"Itachi." The Uchiha felt two skinny arms embrace him tightly. He didn't know what to say or do, but simply just stood there, completely frozen.

"I want you to know that, you'll always be my good friend. You've helped me a lot throughout these few months, and I'm really grateful to you. And...I'm really sorry," whispered Deidara quietly.

Itachi felt his cheeks turn hot. He was completely speechless at first, but finally managed a "thank you", and closed his eyes, enjoying the warm sunlight and the tight hug.

Maybe, knowing the truth wasn't so bad after all.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sunday came, and Sasori decided to inform the store about his plan to resign. He looked at his cellphone - it was already 4pm. Sakura had accompanied him to the mall to get winter clothing earlier in the day, and both of them were feeling quite beat. As Sakura helped herself to a glass of juice, Sasori sat on the couch, dialling the store number. At last, he got through the line.

"Hello, UIH First Street." Ah, it was Nishida.

_"Hey, Nishida, is Itachi there?" _

"Eh, Sasori-kun? No...he isn't. He and Deidara applied for two days leave on Friday. What's up? You want to apply for leave too?"

_"...No, I'm going to resign." _

"You're resigning?! WHY?"

_"Cool it, Nishi. I'm resigning because I'll be leaving this place tomorrow for Suna. I'm moving." _

"WHAT! Sasori-kunnnnnn you can't move!"

_"Why can't I?"_

"'Cos - we're shorthanded!"

_"Ugh, Nishi that's no excuse..."_

5 minutes later, Sasori heaved a sigh of relief as he ended the stressful call with Nishida. His colleague wouldn't let him move, or let him resign. It had taken him a lot of persuasion to get Nishida to call the store Deputy Manager to come to the phone. And finally, he had successfully resigned from UIH. It felt quite weird to be out of a part-time job, yet at the same time, it felt quite relaxing.

Sakura giggled as she saw Sasori's tired look. "Well, a great battle between your colleague and you?"

"I guess so," came the reply.

"Well, since I have nothing much to do anyway, I will stay to help you pack your things," said Sakura, pumping her fist into the air.

Sasori smirked. "I've already packed my things, dumbass."

"I'm no dumbass, dumbass," said Sakura, folding her arms, "besides, these winter things need packing. You need to put some of them into your hand-carry bag. So there; I am going to help you pack now." With that, she stood up and made her way to his room.

Sakura folded up a few sweaters as she hummed a happy tune (which made Sasori a bit irritated). She was about to place them neatly into his hand-carry bag when she saw the photo of Deidara and Sasori together on top some books. Her face fell a little as she saw it, and picked it up to have a closer look at it.

"Sasori, you will miss Deidara, won't you?" she asked, holding up the photoframe.

The redhead's cheeks turned red as he fumbled with his words. "Hey - I - its not what you think - that photo is actually -"

"...Ah, I know, I know." Sakura held up her other hand as Sasori looked at her, feeling awkward, "you will miss him, right? If so, why not tell him that you will be leaving this place tomorrow?"

There was silence in the room for a moment. Sasori did not know what to say. Frankly, he wanted very much to tell Deidara about his plans to move, but did not want to think of Deidara's reaction to it. Probably, since he had the Uchiha by his side now, he wouldn't even bother.

"...I don't think he will care anyway," he answered quietly.

"Eh?! Why not?" Sakura exclaimed, her mouth wide with astonishment.

"Because he has someone else," stated Sasori simply, turning to face the window.

"Someone? You don't mean - Itachi-kun - do you?" asked Sakura.

"Who else?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. "So, you aren't going to tell him because he has someone else? He and Itachi are just friends, you know."

"And how would _you_ know?" Sasori said sharply.

"I - um, I mean, they don't go out, they don't buy flowers for each other..." Sakura said thoughtfully.

Sasori scoffed. "I see, I see," he said, and made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Obviously, Sakura did not know anything about the matter. After hearing and seeing so many things, he did not want to consider deceiving himself. After all, living in self-denial wasn't a very good thing.

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Itachi sighed as he gulped down some juice. Being rejected was painful, but having the accept the fact that Deidara didn't love him was even more painful. As he stared at his computer screen blankly, a knock came from the door.

"Itachi-sama, the person you have requested to see is here," said the maid, opening the door slowly.

"Good, send him in please," said Itachi, rubbing his forehead lightly. He had requested to see his personal counsellor, Kisame Hoshigaki, as he wasn't feeling very well. Said man walked into the well-furnished room a couple of minutes later, and bowed to the Uchiha.

"So, Itachi-sama, what happened? You don't look too good."

"Ah, Kisame, you don't have to address me as 'Itachi-sama'. 'Itachi' will do," said Itachi as Kisame sat down on a chair beside him, "And...you could say that I was rejected by a certain person I like very much."

Kisame's eyes sparkled. "A love? Well, what happened? He told you in the face that he didn't like you?"

Itachi nodded grimly. "He likes another guy, but that guy apparently has a mistunderstanding that both of us are together and are dating and stuff like that. So now...I don't know what to do. Should I continue trying to get my love's attention, or clear the mistunderstanding?"

"The latter, my dear Uchiha." Kisame laughed gently, "you should respect your love's wishes. And clear the mistunderstanding. Only then, if your love's love still does not like your love, you could perhaps try gaining some of his attention. But for now, just leave him as he is."

"Kisame, you really are a wonder," said Itachi, looking sideways at the counsellor's face, "your words always make me feel better, no matter what they are."

"Nah, my job is to make sure your troubles are solved, Itachi-san," replied Kisame.

Itachi smiled a little. "But seriously, why is it that I have to wait for the verdict from my love's love?"

"Because, it would be selfish to get attention from your love if his love thinks that this is a complete misunderstanding. It's like...cheating him."

Itachi thought for a moment. Well, since Kisame had said this, it had to be true. Kisame had been his personal counsellor and friend since middle school year 1. Both of them were very good friends, and Itachi often played golf with him at the golf course owned by his father. Of course, Itachi trusted Kisame a lot.

"Don't worry, Kisame, I think I know what to do now. Thanks for your help."

"Don't mention it, Itachi-san. It was a pleasure," replied Kisame, flashing a toothy grin. Itachi looked startled. Kisame's teeth were still as sharp as ever, like a shark's.

"Kisame, you haven't gone for teeth treatment yet? You definitely need to wear down those sharp edges of your teeth," said the Uchiha, feeling concerned.

The counsellor smiled sheepishly at his client. "Ah, I haven't had the time to go for treatment. Besides, they are really fine..."

Itachi groaned, and got up from his seat. "You will have the treatment now, then. I will send you to my personal dentist and he will treat your sharp teeth. If you don't want to get ulcers frequently, you will have to visit the dentist!"

"Eh? No, it's ok, really."

"You have to go for treatment, my friend."

"I am fine, really. My teeth are ok, they don't need treatment. Treatment is quite a hassle, you know!"

"I insist, Kisame." With that, Itachi grabbed Kisame's hand and dragged him to the carpark where the limousine was. He pushed Kisame into the car and got in after that. The chaffeur was a little shocked by this.

"Uh - Uchiha-sama? Um..."

"Take us to my personal dentist please, and no questions about it," said Itachi sharply, immediately earning a small squeak from the poor chaffeur.

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Monday came, as it always did. Deidara had been sick with a cold over the weekend, and had almost recovered. He locked his front door, and walked to the nearby bus-stop, feeling very lethargic. He couldn't afford to miss school today; he had something important to do.

Over the last two days, Deidara had thought quite a lot. With the help of Pein and the gang, who had stopped by to pay him a visit, he was able to figure out things. But the only problem now was, how to tell Sasori? After all, the stupid guy was stubborn, and had misunderstood things. He'd probably not believe Deidara at all.

Upon reaching school, Deidara took out his notebook and started planning his little "speech". Drawing out a black marker from his pencilcase, he opened his notebook and wrote some things on a fresh page.

_'Should I be very obvious? Or should I be oblivious? Or should I try the sexy way? Hn..." _Deidara thought as he penned down his thoughts. Soon, his page was full of cancellations and words.

**'Sasori, I really love you - **_GEEP it sounds too mushy!' _Cancel.

**'Sasori-kunnnn, don't be mad please. Hear me out...**_he'll ignore me, no good." _Cancel.

**'Sasori, I don't like Itachi, I only like you. Please believe me, don't be so mad...**_eh, why not..." _Circle, reserve for later analysing.

At this moment, Kiba arrived and noticed his table partner scribbling furiously on his notebook. Curiously, he looked over the engrossed boy's shoulder and took a quick look at the writings. Hmm, lovesick Deidara?

"You know, you shouldn't be doing all this planning if you want to confess your feelings to someone," said Kiba thoughtfully, scratching his chin. Deidara jumped, totally caught unaware.

"K-kiba, hn! You shouldn't look at other people's things without permission!" he stuttered.

"Well, too bad, I've already seen the things in your book," said Kiba, "and I think you shouldn't plan out your speech..."

"Hn? Why?"

"Because that isn't very sincere. You confess your true feelings to the person according to what your heart feels and wants to say at the moment. You do not plan out your thoughts - I think saying out your true feelings at the point of confession is better. Besides, who knows? You might forget your lines when you are before the person."

Deidara thought for awhile. What Kiba said did make sense. But, without his lines, he wouldn't know what to say, and Sasori hated it waiting for everything - answers, buses, lunchtime and other things.

Kiba grinned when he saw his desk partner's crestfallen face. He knew what was going on, for he had experienced this before when he was thinking of confessing to Hinata.

"Hey buddy, don't worry about courage. If you truly love the person, then at that time of confession, you will definitely say something right. Because, those are your true feelings. Besides, just focus on getting your point across - the point that you like him very very much. And, everything will be fine." He patted Deidara on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Focus on getting the point across...that I like him very much..." Deidara repeated quietly, twirling his pen with his fingers. Well, it seemed quite difficult, but he would give it a try. After all, he really needed advice on how to confess.

After school and sculpting-lessons, Deidara made his way to Sasori's house. Hopefully, Sasori would be home. The redhead wouldn't pick up his calls, or answer his messages. Hopefully, after today, everything would go back to normal.

It was already 7.30pm when Deidara reached Sasori's doorstep. All the lights in the house were off, strangely. There was no noise coming from the house either, not even a single footstep. Finding this very strange, Deidara went up to one of the glass windows of the house and peered inside. He got a huge shock when he saw that the house was completely empty. What was happening?

Feeling frantic, he approached one of Sasori's neighbours. Surely they knew something about this! As he was about to knock on the door, his phone rang. It was Itachi.

"Hello, Itachi? You know, Sasori's house is empty! There's practically nothing inside. I don't know what is going on!"

**"Deidara, there's something you must know. Sasori quit his job too - Nishida told me that he's moving to Suna. The flight is tonight, at 9.30pm. If we hurry, we might be able to reach the airport...hello? Deidara?!" **

Deidara wasn't listening anymore. He was petrified by the news. By instincts, he turned around and started to run to the airport. He had to reach Sasori quick, or he would never have another chance to confess his feelings.

_'He didn't even tell me he was moving - has he really forgotten about me? If the misunderstanding is so deep, I have to clear it. Wait for me, Sasori!'_


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: Once again, to everyone who read this story or reviewed this story...Thank you very much! :D **

**

* * *

****Chapter 20 **

"Hello? Deidara?"

**"HELLO? KONAN? KONAN, SASORI IS MOVING TO SUNA TONIGHT - " **

"Wait, calm down, Deidara. Don't shout! What is going on?"

**"SASORI IS MOVING TO SUNA TONIGHT! HE DIDN'T TELL ME HE WAS **_**-SOB- **_**MOVING! I HAVE TO **_**-SOB- **_**CATCH UP WITH HIM BEFORE**_** -SOB- **_**HE LEAVES! HIS FLIGHT **_**-SOB- **_**IS AT 9.30PM!"**

_"What?!"_ Konan gasped as the Pein and the gang looked at her in surprise.

**"YOU - YOU DIDN'T KNOW?" **

"No, _we_ didn't know anything. Sasori never told us anything. Are you sure he is moving to Suna tonight?"

"HAH?!" Hidan immediately grabbed the phone from Konan, and started screeching. "Hey, Dei-chan! What the hell are you saying? Sasori moving to Suna?"

**"SASORI - SASORI - MUST GO TO THE AIRPORT NOW -SOB- NOW - BWAAAAAAAA!!" **Click.

"Hello? HELLO? Dei-chan?" Hidan shook the cellphone with rage and confusion as Konan glared at him.

"Don't ruin my new Oto-350j model cellphone, you idiot," she muttered, snatching it from Hidan's grasp.

"Whatever! Sasori's really moving and he didn't tell any of us!" Hidan growled.

"What's with him? Weird these days," added Kakuzu.

"Anyway, I think we had better head down to the airport right now," said Pein solemnly, grabbing his jacket, "this is serious business."

"Right." With that, the whole gang ran towards the nearest taxi-stand and hurriedly flagged a cab. They quickly boarded it and were soon off to the airport. 5 minutes later, Pein saw a distinct, familiar figure running on the empty streets.

"Isn't that Deidara?" He pointed towards his left as everyone turned to look at the person. Hidan gasped.

"It IS Dei-chan. Oh crap, quick! Cab-guy, pull over in front!" With that, he wound down the glass window of the taxi and stuck his head out.

"Oi, Dei-chan! Stop where you are! Don't run anymore, you'll die like this!"

Deidara stopped and turned around, only to face Hidan's head sticking out of the cab. He was very sweaty and his face was tear-stained. His hair was in a disarray, and was panting very heavily.

"Get into the cab already, idiot! Do you want to catch up with Sasori or not?" Hidan shouted.

"..." Deidara sniffled and ran towards the cab. Hidan opened the door and pulled him inside, then ordered the driver to continue driving. But the driver was being a drag.

"I'm sorry sir, you've exceeded the passenger limit," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

Hidan let out a frustrated groan. "Now, sir, if you don't drive off right now, this little boy here is gonna lose his _mind!" _

"I'll lose my _driving license _if I drive with him on board!" the driver shot back.

"Have you no sympathy, my friend?"

"I am not your friend! I don't have sympathy either!"

"WHATEVER! Mister, if you don't drive now, I'm gonna kick you out of the taxi and drive your cab!"

"I'd like to see you try it!" said the driver, feeling intimidated.

"WHAT THE HELL, JUST DRIVE ALREADY!" Hidan shrieked, spit flying from his mouth.

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Grandma Chiyo smiled in satisfaction as she put down her pair of chopsticks. She was in a restaurant at the airport with Sasori and Sakura, eating dinner. The food certainly was delicious - she would remember the taste of the scrumptious food forever. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was already 9.10pm.

"Well, Sasori-chan, it was a good thing we came here early," she remarked, "we did take a long tme to come here. One and a half hours - fancy that!"

"Grandma, that's nice, but you don't have to keep repeating it..." Sasori groaned.

"Ah, have I said it before?" Grandma Chiyo gasped in surprise, "well, how nice!" She started laughing to herself as Sasori sweatdropped.

"Forgive my grandma, Sakura," he whispered to Sakura, who was was stifling her laughter.

"It's ok; my grandma is like that sometimes, too," came the reply.

"Well then, lets go to the boarding gate already," said Grandma Chiyo, "we don't want to be late, do we?"

Sasori sighed in response, and stood up, grabbing his luggage. The trio then headed towards the boarding gate. Sasori didn't seem very happy; in fact, he didn't seem very enthusiastic about moving to Suna. Sakura wondered if he was missing Deidara.

This was bad. If Sasori was going to leave like this, he would definitely regret it for the rest of his life. But there was nothing Sakura could do - she could only help Sasori carry his luggage. As they passed by a candy store, Grandma Chiyo suggested buying some chocolates to eat on the plane, so they went into the store.

At that moment, Deidara and the rest had reached the airport, and leapt out of the cab as Kakuzu hurriedly paid the shaken driver the cab fare. Deidara quickly scanned the flight schedule board for the 9.30pm flight to Suna, and ran towards the boarding gate. He and the gang ran past the candy store, failing to notice the redhead browsing at some chocolates.

Deidara reached the boarding gate first, and looked around frantically, hoping to spot Sasori. Finally, he spotted a redhead at the counter, and rushed towards him.

"Sasori!" he cried, grabbing the redhead's shoulder. Said person turned around, and gave Deidara a confused look.

"N-n-not Sasori?!" Deidara gasped, taking a step back.

The redhead scowled. "Of course not, stupid. I am not Sasori; I am Gaara."

Deidara felt as if he had just jumped into the sea. A case of mistaken identity! Ok, that aside, where was Sasori? Was he somewhere else? Perhaps, in the washroom, or one of the shops, or -

"Deidara-kun?"

Deidara spun around, and saw Sakura standing behind him, together with Sasori and Grandma Chiyo. Sasori was staring at Deidara in disbelief.

"How on earth did you -" Before the redhead could even finish his sentence, Deidara quickly ran forward and gave him a tight hug. A _really_ tight hug. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as words poured out of his mouth.

"Sasori, don't leave, please," he pleaded, "I really like you. I really, really do."

Sasori didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure of what to do either. "Wait, Deidara, don't do this here, this is the airport - "

"I don't care! You must not leave me no matter what. How could you not tell me anything about your plans to move, hn? What am I to you?!"

"You - "

"And I don't like Itachi, you idiot! I like you!" Deidara finished, clutching the redhead's sweater tightly, "what must I do for you to believe it? I have already clarified things with Itachi!"

Sasori's eyes widened as he heard those words he had always wanted to hear. He still couldn't believe that this was happening. But seeing the tearful, sweaty, desperate face of Deidara made his heart soften completely.

"Yeah, redhead," scolded Hidan, "this boy was_ running _to the airport and crying before we spotted him and made him get into the cab. He looked as if he was running a marathon."

Sasori gasped, and looked down at the sobbing boy, who was still holding onto him tightly. His heart melted at the touch of Deidara's tears against his skin. Unable to hold back anymore, he slowly raised his arm and gave Deidara a hug.

"Idiot," he whispered as he stroked Deidara's long hair gently, his fingers trembling a little, "why'd you do that? You're so foolish..."

"Only for you, Sasori," replied Deidara quietly.

"Really an idiot brat," muttered the redhead, as he smiled, "don't do that again. It's too dangerous."

"Yes." Deidara drew back, and the two teenagers kissed, earning a gasp from Grandma Chiyo.

"Goodness gracious, my Sasori-chan is in love!" she said, feeling very surprised.

"Hmm, so everything's fine between them now," Pein said, smiling. Konan and Kakuzu nodded, and Hidan grinned.

A moment later, Sasori and Deidara finally broke off from their kiss, and Sasori ran his fingers through Deidara's hair. "Deidara...I - I have to go. I'm really sorry..."

Deidara stared. "Why? Why must you leave? Couldn't you stay behind?"

"My uncle's waiting for me at Suna. He's done all the paperwork for my immigration and school...so, I can't stay here..."

Tears began to well up in Deidara's eyes again. "Sasori - Sasori I - I really wish you could stay, but it's ok, I guess..." The boy began to sob, startling Sasori.

"Deidara, don't cry. We can always meet up during the holidays, or talk over the phone," said Sasori, trying to coax Deidara.

"But - it isn't the same as seeing you everyday..." Deidara stuttered, tears streaming down his face.

"Deidara, don't cry," said the redhead, feeling very heartbroken. He gently dried Deidara's tears with his fingers, feeling very vexed. Suddenly, Grandma Chiyo cleared her throat.

"My dears, don't be sad. Sasori-chan, you don't have to go to Suna if you want. I'll explain everything to your Uncle," she said.

"But -"

"No buts, Sasori-chan. If you go to Suna, you won't be happy there, and your friend will cry everyday. So why not stay behind?" With that, she picked up her luggage and walked towards the baggage counter.

"Grandma..." Sasori looked at the old woman's back, unable to say anything else.

"Don't worry, Sasori-chan," said Grandma Chiyo, "I can take care of myself. I will give you a call once I have reached Suna. You must take care of Deidara-chan, ok?" With that, she tossed him a set of extra house-keys, gave him a wink and walked into the boarding gate.

Sasori froze for a moment, then nodded, feeling grateful towards his grandma. He waved to her as she smiled and disappeared into the crowd.

"So now," said Pein, "you have to tell us why you didn't tell us about your moving plans. If you don't have a good explanation, you will have to buy all of us supper."

Sasori stared. "What?!"

"Hey, that's for not telling us anything. We're your friends, you know. Plus, you ignored our calls - " Hidan said.

"And made us call you so many times, therefore increasing our phone bills - " added Kakuzu.

"And lastly, worrying our poor Deidara," finished Konan, you've made him cry so many times, you know."

Sasori looked at Deidara, who was blushing away furiously. He then smiled, and pulled Deidara closer to him. "Alright, I'll buy you all supper."

_I love you too, Deidara. For ever and ever and ever._

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So, everything ended on a happy note.

Sasori and Deidara got together finally, and were happy. They watched movies together, took photos together and walked to school together. And everyday, after school had ended, they went to buy ramen from Ichiraku's and sat on the swings to eat.

Itachi decided to go overseas to pursue his studies, and Sakura set up a Sasuke Fanclub. She claimed that she was only his fangirl, and not someone who loved him.

Hinata and Kiba got couple rings from the mall, and wore them everyday.

Pein and Konan did the same, and Pein officially declared Konan as his OTG - his One True Girlfriend.

The cherry-blossom viewing season came. One particular day, when Sasori and Deidara were walking home through the cherry-blossom grove, Sasori posed a question.

"Hey, are you sure you want to be with me? You know, I'm shorter than you, and I can be pretty bad-tempered at times."

Deidara smiled, and gave Sasori a quick peck on the cheek, causing the latter to blush.

"I don't really care, hn. I just know that I want you to be with me," he replied happily.

"Really?"

"Yes, hn."

"Well, I love you, Deidara."

"I love you too, Sasori."

"Lets go eat some sushi?"

"Alright, lets go, hn! I want to eat tempura udon too..."

"Yeah, yeah."

**-END-**


End file.
